


Partners in Crime

by Rearviewdreamer



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, I should give up on tagging, It's clearly not a strength of mine, M/M, Minor Character Death, Murder cover up, Or is there?, accidental murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-24 14:18:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4922845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rearviewdreamer/pseuds/Rearviewdreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spending time beside the small stream at the park has always done wonders for helping Louis clear his mind.</p><p> </p><p>or</p><p>I wanted to know what would happen if 1D killed someone or at the very least, thought that they did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

From the time Louis woke up this morning he could tell that today was going to be a bad one.

He generally begins every day with some varying degree of a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach, however the two doses of medication he regularly takes suppresses his anxiety from stretching any farther than his own mind long enough for him to get up and actually start his day.

He swallowed down two thick capsules not even ten minutes after opening his eyes, the medicine leaving a bitter and synthetic taste at the back of his tongue before disappearing down his throat.

Taking the pills is the easy part; the waiting however, is what he hates the most.

When Louis first started taking his medication he would sometimes spend all morning waiting around to feel better and more like himself. Sometimes he’d just lie there staring at the clock, counting all the minutes that passed before he felt like he could breathe again, but that was years ago and now his system is so used to its routine that Louis feels immediate relief just from reaching for the bottle and opening it.

Now it only takes about fifteen minutes; fifteen long and excruciating minutes where Louis feels as though he is pinned down by the covers pulled tight across his body as he focuses on small, simple tasks such as breathing. His muscles and veins feel alive, buzzing under his skin with the overwhelming need to get up and take responsibility for the things he’s supposed to, but something a lot stronger keeps him lying there, immobilized and frozen with worry and fear. It’s like something is physically holding him down each time his brain tells him to move, and it makes him panic because the weight on top of his chest is so heavy that his lungs have to work twice as hard just to pull air in and push it back out.  

Mornings always feel that way; every single one of them, crushing and terrifying until the big heavy thing gets tired of holding him down and begins to slink itself away from Louis’ body, slowly lifting itself and all of its suffocating energy up and away from him so that his chest can rise and fall at a much steadier pace. As more minutes pass Louis has to use less conscious effort to inhale and exhale, and by the time the heavy thing has risen up so far that Louis can no longer feel it, he is able to breathe again without even trying, his medication taking full effect by slowly coercing him to crawl out of bed and into his everyday life.

He doesn’t know why he feels like this every day. Louis’ life is no more stressful than anyone else’s that he knows, and yet he starts each day feeling like it’s all too much. His doctor says that sometimes chemical imbalances in the brain make people feel as though even the simplest of tasks are overwhelming. Doctors have been telling him this for years, but Louis is still baffled as why _his_ brain is the one that goes into a panic at the thought of going to work or running errands round the city like everyone else. But these days Louis just takes his medication like he’s supposed to. He stopped questioning his chemical imbalances a long time ago.

Louis concentrates on himself in the mirror while he’s adjusting his hair. His eyes fall to his bedside table every few minutes as he mentally calculates how long it will be before he’ll need to take another dose. He feels alright for the most part, but his chest still feels a bit tight even though he took his medication nearly an hour ago. There are some days where the pressure never fully disappears, and that’s usually how Louis knows the day is going to be difficult to get through.

He takes his mother’s call at seven fifteen just like every other morning as he drinks his tea at the kitchen table. Her cheery greeting puts Louis at ease.

“Good morning, my love!”

“Hello,” Louis offers back, feeling a bit guilty for not matching her brightness, but he has never been a morning person, anxiety disorder or not.

“Wow. That awake, are you?” He can hear the amusement in her voice at his lack of enthusiasm.  “How did you sleep?”

“Alright. Slept through the night, so.”

“Oh?” She asks, sounding distracted. He can hear his smallest siblings in the background, whining and complaining as his mother undoubtedly forces them to go finish getting ready for school. “That’s really good, Lou. And how are you today?”

Louis takes a large swallow of his tea before answering. “I’m alright,” he answers quietly. “How’s everything with you?”

She shushes his brother and sister, telling them to go get dressed again in a tone that leaves very little room for negotiation. When she comes back, the harshness in her voice has been replaced by concern. “Louis…you took your medication, right? You don’t sound like yourself...”

“Well, it’s before noon. I think I sound alright.”

His mother’s soft chuckles fill his ear. “That’s a good point. You always did enjoy a lie in. You used to give me absolute hell as a child trying to wake you up for school.” Usually Louis would at least crack a grin at something like that, but for some reason it’s hard this morning. His mother must notice because she’s no longer laughing. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You could always take the day off if you’re not feeling well or I could stop by before work if you need me to.” Louis can now hear her husband Dan in the background, his mother softly shushes him to turn her attention back to her son. “Louis? Did you hear me? I said I can come by if you-”

“I feel fine,” he assures her even though he’s not really convinced that he does. “Don’t come over, really. I’m leaving for work in a few minutes anyway and you’re busy enough without having to look after me.” The twins’ small voices carry through the receiver again followed by one of his other, older sisters as everyone in the Tomlinson-Deakin household converges into the kitchen for the start of their day. A couple of people shout hello to him out of nowhere and his mother makes an impatient sound, the background noise fading as she moves somewhere quieter.

“Louis, you’re not inconveniencing me or whatever it is you’re worried about. You’re my son and if you need me to come over I will.”

“I don’t need you to. I’m fine. I’ll take another pill later if I need to. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

She sighs when one of the twins calls out for her. Louis doesn’t know how she can be so many things to so many people when he struggles just to make it on time to his receptionist job each day.

“Well, only you know how you feel, I guess,” she says clearly having more to say on the matter, but taking Louis’ word for it. “I’ll call again tonight. Be good until then. Have a good day at work.”

“Okay. I will. You too.”

“And you better call me if you need anything before then. I’ve told you before, you’re not bothering me by needing me. I’m your Mum.”

“I know and I will.”

She sighs again after another of his siblings calls for her. “I have to go see what they want, but I love you. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

“Okay. I love you too.”

His conscience eats away at him after they hang up. He knows everything his mother said to him is true, but he still feels like a burden every time she has to interrupt her life to make sure her grown son is dealing with adulthood rather than being drowned by it.

Back when he was younger he had a lot of responsibility since she was a single mother. He had sisters to help take care of and grades that always seemed to be in decline no matter how much he studied or paid attention in class. His doctors have all said that it’s no wonder he often felt overwhelmed, being a teenager and assuming the role of second parent to himself and four little girls. Most people go through periods of high stress or anxiety that recede over time, but for some reason Louis’ never went away. It only got worse as he got older, even after he finished school and his mother settled down with her new husband, ultimately taking most of the load off of him.

His mother thought things would improve for all of them, but when they didn’t and Louis got so bad that other parts of his life started to be affected by his anxiety it was suggested by his doctor that he focus on himself and try living on his own. That, along with prescription drugs and all the support in the world from his family has gotten Louis to where he is now; an independent adult, constantly stumbling from day to day just trying to feel and seem normal like everyone else. The only thing is that he never truly feels like everyone else.

*

The first couple of hours that Louis is at work are as routine and uneventful as always. He greets people from behind his desk as they walk into the lobby of the firm. He answers their questions and directs them where to go when they aren’t sure, and he answers the phone, forwarding any difficult inquires or issues to another secretary who is far better suited to handle them.

The ringing of the phones and the constant swing of the double-glass doors don’t get to him until it’s almost lunchtime and each shrill note of the phone-line makes his heart rate pick up. A large man with a deep, hollow voice causes his chest to tighten when he bombards Louis with a series of questions as soon as he marches through the door talking on his phone. Louis takes a couple of deep breaths and tries to assist the man, but he’s impatient to get to a meeting and Louis’ fumbled attempts at helping him are doing nothing to put him at ease. He can feel the man losing what little patience he has with him when Mia, one of the other receptionists sees how tense the situation has become and walks over to gently redirect the man to her desk area instead.

She smiles at Louis, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. “Hey, look,” she tilts her head at the big clock hanging on the opposite wall. “It’s almost twelve-thirty,” she grins. Louis nods, watching Mia’s long dark hair swing as she and the impatient man turn to walk to the other side of the lobby. His heartbeat slows down now that the cause of his stress has been removed, however there’s still a residual tightness lingering above his ribcage that makes him appreciate the time which Mia so kindly pointed out.

His eyes track the clock and the door for the next five minutes, willing time to move faster.

Since Louis has been living on his own for over a year, different times of the day have become significant for different reasons. He wakes up at six and takes his medication, his mother calls at seven-fifteen to make sure that he has taken said medication and hasn’t completely lost it, and every day at twelve-thirty his childhood friend Stan stops by to have lunch with him in the café across the street, partly to spend time with Louis, mostly to make sure he’ll make it to the end of the day.

All of these times are important to him because they’re like little checkpoints that Louis needs in order to make it through, especially on days like today where he feels so high-strung and jumpy that Stan’s presence causes him to sigh with relief.

“Hey there, Lou! You ready?” Stan heads straight to his desk and steals one of the pens from Louis’ jar with the firm’s logo on it. He slides it into his pocket as he smiles down at Louis, fumbling to clean up his area.

“Yeah, I am. Just- Just give me one second.”

His smile dims, silently studying Louis’ eyes when he catches something off about his response. Thankfully Stan doesn’t say anything about it and barrels on like he didn’t notice a thing. “Okay, sure. We better get going though. You know the café is always packed on Fridays.”

Louis nods, closing his laptop and getting up to follow Stan out onto the sidewalk.

The chicken sandwich and large slice of pie that Louis eats don’t do much in helping to ease his tension. He’s still a bit on edge from earlier, his eyes darting amongst the crowd of people in the café all checking their watches and complaining as they wait for the food they’ve ordered. The pressure on top of his chest has increased just by being here, but it’s not so bad that he can’t breathe. He thinks he would actually feel alright if it weren’t for the dozens of voices and loud sounds constantly echoing and reverberating around them.

Stan stops telling Louis about his plans for the evening after another woman raises her voice to get the cashier’s attention and the sharpness of it causes Louis to briefly close his eyes. Louis had thought he could make it until the end of work without taking another pill, but he’s struggling just sitting here and listening to other peoples’ stresses. There’s no way he’ll be able to take any real stress from his own life at this rate, so Louis digs around in his wallet and takes one out, swallowing it down with the last of his water.

Usually Louis will excuse himself to take his medication to save the person he’s with any awkwardness as he pops pills into his mouth out of nowhere. Stan looks around, frowning like he has only just noticed how crazy it is inside the café today. Louis wishes he could be that oblivious.

“Bad day?” Stan asks after the front door slams shut again, causing the bell above it to ring out.

“Kind of. Well….no, not really.” Sure Louis feels awful, but it could always be worse. Today really isn’t all that bad considering. “This morning wasn’t great, but I’ll be alright. The day is already half over.”

Stan’s eyes light up at that. “Yes, it is! And that means the weekend is almost here! Maybe we can watch the game on Saturday if you’re up for it. It could be just us if you want. Maybe we could hang out at yours,” he suggests.

They both know that Louis is never truly feeling up for it, but he wouldn’t mind spending extra time with his friend outside of their quick lunch breaks. At least it’ll be quieter at his place. “Yeah. That sounds like fun.”

Louis smiles back at Stan, but the door of the café slams shut, causing Louis eyelids to flutter closed again. He feels Stan place a hand on top of his when he blinks them back open.

“Let’s go, yeah? Lunch is almost over anyway.”

Louis is more than happy to lead the way out.

*

He was able to make it through work without much incident. He didn’t have to deal with anybody too difficult and Mia came by to chat with him for a few minutes while they weren’t busy, so his workday turned out to be pretty decent. The ride home on the train however, is where Louis’ good fortune started to dissipate.

The screaming baby a couple of seats behind him did nothing but exactly that; scream. She cried for the entire twenty minute ride with every bump and jolt of the train causing her to cry ever louder, which in turn caused Louis’ gut to hollow as he tried to focus on something else other than the noise and the people crowded in all around him. When he finally got back out onto the street, his nerves were so shot that the tightness in his chest had returned at almost full strength.

His doctor prescribes him extra pills to account for bad days when Louis needs more that the two he takes in the morning and the one that he takes at night. He takes several deep breaths once he’s home to try and get a handle on himself and avoid taking another random dose like he had to at lunch. It’s barely even six o’clock, but he thinks he can make it until he goes to bed.

Louis decides to order food in since today has been so rough on him. He doesn’t want to put himself in another situation that leaves him feeling more anxious than he already does, so he gets pizza brought right to his door so that he doesn’t even have to put on shoes.

After dinner he tries to find things to do that will occupy his time, but no matter what show he watches or room he decides to tidy up he’s still very much aware of the restlessness he feels stirring inside of him. He glances at the clock again after he gives up on reading his book, sighing when he sees that it’s nowhere near time for his mother’s nightly check-up at ten-thirty or his regularly scheduled dose of medication at eleven.

He feels better from earlier, but the waiting around is what has made him so aware of time seeming to drag by. It’s moments like these where Louis has to go to great lengths for distractions from his own mind. He had thought about taking Stan up on his offer to meet him at the pub, but he knows better than to think he could handle that much going on around him with such short notice. He doesn’t want to bother his mother for something as stupid as him being bored and antsy about the hour hand of the clock not moving fast enough, so he convinces himself to get up and go for a walk to fill up some of the free time he has to sit around and worry about virtually nothing.

*

The park a few blocks down from his street is always a good distraction on nights like this. It’s a few minutes’ walk to the entrance and then past the tennis courts near the gate, but the wide expanse of fresh green grass is what makes his chest rise and fall with the first deep breath he has taken in hours. 

He walks along the edge of the meadow until the manicured trees become dense and unkempt like some jungle that the city forgot. He steps onto an overgrown trail that’s only somewhat visible in the dark, but Louis has been here so many times that he maneuvers past the thick brush without any trouble.

He can hear the running of the small stream just up ahead where the small patch of woods ends. It’s shallow, with the deepest part barely reaching Louis’ knees if he stands in it, but the gentle sloshing sounds of the water against the rocks is peaceful where Louis sits right on the bank with his knees tucked up to his chest.

Sitting here is the best remedy Louis has besides his medication for the way his mind seems to dwell on the things he can’t control. He picks up a twig beside him and picks off the leaves to the soft sounds going on around him. This place has been his haven for over a year, always providing an island of calm in the ocean of constant anxiety he’s constantly wading through. Since moving out on his own, countless hours have been spent with Louis doing nothing but sitting right here in this spot, doing nothing and thinking of nothing as he watches the cool water flow by.

Louis isn’t sure how of much time has passed when the moon starts to peek through the clouds. He was sure that the few raindrops he felt when he first arrived were the precursor to something much heavier, but luckily the rain held off long enough for him to have a few moments of quiet.

He sighs, knowing it’s getting late by the numbness in his toes and ass from sitting in one position for so long. He stands, tossing one last twig into the stream before dusting off his joggers and pulling on his hoodie over his shirt again.

He walks along the stream this time instead of heading straight through the trees and back to the grassy area. He kicks a few rocks into the water as he nears the slight bend in the stream, pausing when he hears a couple of voices from the other side of it.

Out of all the times Louis has come here, only once or twice has he had company, usually in the form of a couple of teenagers drinking and laughing. Louis walks a bit further, squinting past the branches hanging down to see how many of tonight’s visitors are already drunk enough to be splashing around in the water, but the scene he happens upon is a not at all what he expected.

Instead of a couple of giggling, intoxicated kids kicking water around he finds three grown men engaged in some sort of conversation that has one of them frustratedly pulling at his own blonde hair. The situation looks tense as one of the other men sharply gestures to the black Range Rover pulled alongside the bank. He looks just as exasperated as the blonde, cradling his face in his hands as the tallest of the three hangs his head and does the exact same thing. Their argument picks back up after a few beats of silence, but Louis can’t exactly make out what is being said over the sound of the water.

Louis realizes that getting closer to hear is beyond intrusive, but he simply can’t help himself as he edges a bit closer, staying just within the protection of the trees so as not to be seen. He keeps edging closer until he can make out their conversation which seems intense, but mostly like some kind of debate between friends.

“You always do the _stupidest fucking things,_ I swear to God,” the short haired one shouts at the blonde.

“I thought it was deep enough here!” the blonde argues back. “Don’t fucking get mad at me because-”

The short-haired man barks a sarcastic laugh at him. “Don’t get mad? _Don’t get mad_? Are you fucking joking right now? You’re lucky if either of us ever speaks to you again if we actually make it out of this without going to fucking prison.” The blonde’s face falls at that, his mouth falling open at the man’s words.

“ _Li,_ ” he tries with a broken voice, but the man turns away from him, turning instead to the tallest man who has yet to say anything.

“What do you think?” he asks, still completely blocking out the blonde.

The tallest man pays little attention to their squabble. He shrugs standing at an angle with his hood up, so Louis can’t see his face. He throws a quick glance to the Range Rover parked beside them. He gravely shakes his head, but doesn’t meet the others’ eyes.

“I’m not sure, but we can’t do it here. The body wouldn’t make it far….it’s not deep enough. We could try a bit further down past the city, but.” Louis’ heart stops dead in his chest as the reality of what he’s witnessing sinks in. The three men start talking again, but this time Louis doesn’t want to hear what they’re saying. His stomach feels leaden, realizing that his curiosity has led him to be standing in the presence of three murderers as they argue over how to dispose of the body. His blood runs cold as he slowly backs away into the trees to remove himself from the situation.

He holds his breath as he leaves, taking one careful step at a time, but one of his heels comes  down to snap a twig in half and the quick sound causes him and the three men to freeze in place.

“What was that?” the tallest one asks, his neck craning to see past the trees. They all look in Louis’ direction, but his clothing is dark enough and the branches are so thick that thankfully he’s hidden from sight. No one moves for the longest time, until the short-haired man decides that it was nothing.

“It was probably just an animal or something,” he reasons, but the look on his face says that he doesn’t quite believe it. The tall man doesn’t seem convinced either, taking a couple of wary steps towards the trees, but when he can’t see or hear anything else he stops.

“I think it’s alright,” he says to no one in particular.

The blonde’s cheeks regain some color from the confirmation, but they drain back to a sickly hue when a loud ringtone starts blaring out from the pocket of Louis’ hoodie.

Louis feels his face burning as he fumbles trying to shut it off, but his fingers feel useless as they slip over the screen and the music continues to play. He snatches the phone out of his pocket, catching a glimpse of his mother’s picture on the screen right before he succeeds in silencing it. Louis pockets the phone again, his lungs on fire from holding his breath as he watches the initial shock on the blonde’s face change to alarm, and then finally fear. Louis doesn’t  hear him shout the order, ‘ _get them’_ , but the blonde says it with so much force that Louis can see the words being formed on his lips right before he turns to run.

He didn’t stick around long enough to see anyone move from where they were standing along the stream, but he hears the steady thump of fast footsteps behind him as he maneuvers through the trees. He moved further down than he realized earlier, and now he’s stumbling through the undergrowth away from the trail with no clear direction of where he’s going. He trips once on a raised root, but the speed with which Louis picks himself up helps propel him through the small wooded area and out to the open field of green, ignoring every plea of _stop_ he hears being shouted at him.

Louis runs until his legs and chest burn, and yet he can still hear heavy footsteps getting increasingly faster and louder the further he gets. The wind is knocked out of him when he’s finally caught, his entire body crashing to the ground when two pairs of arms wrap around his middle to bring him down.

He tastes blood his mouth from the way his chin hit the ground. He can feel it leaking from his lip as he pleads to be let go, but no one is listening to him.

“Please!” Louis begs as he’s flipped to his back. “Please! I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

His phone rings again but now it’s a few feet away, displaced from his pocket after being dragged down like some sort of animal. He makes a feeble attempt at grabbing for it, realizing too late that it’s out of reach. He knows it’s his mother calling again because he missed her first call. Louis never misses her calls. He’s always counting down the seconds before she checks in on him and is right there waiting to talk to her with the phone already in his hand. His chest seizes up when the ringtone stops and then starts right back up again, his mother clearly panicking now that Louis has missed more than one.

All of the pressure from this morning is multiplied as Louis struggles to bring air into his lungs. The short-haired man and the blonde use their weight to hold him down, but they don’t realize that his struggling is the result of him not being able to breathe rather than trying to escape.

A harsh wheezing noise leaves his throat, and now the heavy thing on his chest is alive and suffocating him while the weight of the two very real men pinning him down causes his vision to blur around the edges. He tries to reach for his own chest, but his hands are now being held by his sides. He opens his mouth to say something to his attackers, but he can’t get it out.

He hasn’t had an attack like this in a long time, but Louis can tell he’s about to lose consciousness at any moment when he has yet to pull any air into his lungs. He tries to take in a breath again and fails miserably, but then suddenly the tall man is standing in his line of vision.

“Guys,” he says, watching Louis with concern. “Guys, something’s wrong with him,” he says again. The other two are so busy arguing that they don’t hear. The tall man’s eyes turn panicked after a while of watching Louis gag on nothing but air. “He can’t breathe! He’s not fucking breathing!” he shouts. The man does something with his arms and not even one second later, Louis is free.

It’s like being drawn from a well of water when he’s able to roll onto his side and inhale the sweet grass beneath him. His lungs are still tight and bound inside of his chest, but no longer having the extra weight of the two men makes it easier for Louis to breathe, even by just a fraction. He’s still gasping for air when the tall man reaches out for him.

“Hey,” he grabs Louis by the shoulders, “Hey!” he shouts when Louis still won’t look at him. He forces Louis onto his back again, but his expression is still alarmed when Louis’ breathing doesn’t improve in this position. “What’s wrong?  Tell me what’s wrong!”

Louis tries several times to get it out, but only succeeds in panting a few choppy words. “Medication…my pills… I- I need... my chest,” he tries between gasps, and the tall man’s eyes turn scared.

He whips his head up to look at his friends but they look just as lost as he does. “There’s something wrong with him. He takes medicine. Fuck.”

Louis gasps again, uselessly clutching at his own throat like it’ll help, but he knows from experience that it won’t.

“Do you have any of it on you?” he asks.

Louis shakes his head no, feeling the beginnings of tears start to prick his throat. He’s going to be murdered in a field in the middle of the night and no one will ever find his body because he’s going to be floating down a river next to the other person these men are trying to get rid of.

He already couldn’t breathe and now he’s choking as hot tears start running down his cheeks. The tall man sits him up, crouching down in front of him so that they’re level as he holds Louis upright. “Hey,” he says a lot calmer this time even though his eyes still show his alarm. “I need you to calm down for me, alright? I need you to breathe. Breathe like me, watch,” he says, taking such a deep breath that Louis can see his chest expand beneath the hoodie he’s wearing. 

He tries to mimic the smooth even breath, but Louis’ comes out short and choked and not at all like his. The man lightly squeezes his shoulders, encouraging Louis to try again, but he still can’t do it.

“Okay, just look at me.” The man places a hand against one of Louis’ cheeks to make sure he’s doing as he’s told. He places his other hand flat on Louis’ chest and asks him to try and make it move when he breathes.

The easy rise and fall pattern that the man desires from Louis isn’t as smooth as he’d probably like, but after a few attempts Louis gets it.

“There we go,” the man praises him, “One more just like that, come on.” Louis copies the way the man inhales and soon enough he’s pulling another slow lungful of air into his body. “That feels good, yeah? Just keep breathing with me. Keep pushing my hand.”

Louis doesn’t know how long it takes before he’s able to breathe at a normal pace again, but it feels like forever when the man drops his hand from Louis’ chest, now satisfied that he’s not going to asphyxiate. He leaves his hand on his cheek though, using his thumb to wipe away any remaining tears and a bit of blood from his chin.

“Better?” he asks with his palm still lingering on his skin.

Louis nods, marveling at the way he can still feel pressure on his chest, but is no longer gasping for air. He’s able to focus on other things now like the way the man’s hood has fallen back to reveal a dark beanie on his head and a rivulet of long dark curls cascading out of it.

“Good,” he grins, causing a dimple to form in the hollow of his cheek as he allows his other hand to fall away from him.

Louis isn’t sure why, but for some reason he actually believes that this man is happy he’s alive. It’s kind of weird for a murderer to be so concerned about the wellbeing of a future victim, but Louis can almost sense his joy.

Louis comes crashing back down to reality when the blonde speaks up out of nowhere.

“Great. He’s feeling better, but now what the hell do we do with him?”

His words are enough to make Louis suck in a sharp breath.

The short-haired man is quiet this time as he contemplates. Oddly enough, it’s the tall man who speaks first.

“We should probably let him go,” he says staring right into Louis’ eyes as he does so.

The blonde scoffs, “What? Fuck no, we’re not _letting him go_. Are you insane? We do that and we’re done. He’ll run straight to the police. Fuck that. He stays.”

Louis’ words seem to have evaporated from his mouth so he violently shakes his head to show that he most definitely would not tell the police anything. If they let him go, he wouldn’t tell another soul for as long as he lives.

The short haired-man, Li, Louis remembers, turns to frown at him. “We’re already working on a murder and now you want to add abduction to the fucking list?” he asks incredibly. “You can’t just hold people captive against their will, Niall.”

“Well there are only two fucking options here!” Niall yells. “It’s either let him go and get caught or hold him and make sure he doesn’t say anything.” Louis sends up a prayer, grateful they haven’t yet figured out the third option for guaranteeing his silence. Like the blonde can hear his thoughts he revises his statement. “I mean…there _is_ a third option, but...”

“But _what_?” the short-haired man snaps. “Of course there’s not a third option, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m not saying we’re going to do it, I was just pointing out the fact that it’s there. Jesus Christ, Li. Lighten up.”

The other man’s neck is so tense and red that a thick, pulsing vein is visible from where Louis sits on the ground. “ _Lighten up?_ Niall, look at where we are right now because of you! I swear to God, if-”

Louis’ stomach is in his throat listening as the two men talk about him as if he’s not even there.  The only one who seems to even remember Louis’ presence at all is the one still crouched down and silently watching him. He stands suddenly, shutting down the others’ argument as quickly as it began.

“He’s coming with us,” he announces. The other two raise their eyebrows in surprise at his statement, but they don’t look like they’re going to go against him.

“Okaaay…” the blonde drags out. He gestures for his friends to come closer, lowering his voice and turning his back to give them some kind of privacy, but Louis can still hear. “He comes with us and then what? We still can’t let him go. He’s a witness.”

“He’s right,” Li agrees. “It doesn’t matter when we release him. He’s still a threat.”

For some reason the tall man comes to his defense, “He’s scared out of his fucking mind, Li. Do you really think he’s going to go running to the cops right now?”

They go back and forth about him for a long time until Niall lets out a huff of frustration.

“Look, everyone knows the first rule of doing something like this is _never_ leave any witnesses. This guy is a fucking witness and we can’t let him just walk away from this.”

Li casts his eyes down in silent agreement, but says nothing while Niall and the tall man have a wordless stare off.

“This shouldn’t even be a fucking debate. He comes with us,” the man says again, this time with more authority. They all shift to glance at Louis where he’s still frozen stiff on the ground. “And no one is going to touch him…” He directs his words right at Niall and Louis feels immediate relief hearing them. He feels like he needs to grovel at the tall man’s feet and thank him. Louis nearly even smiles until the he finishes his statement and the bit of hope he possessed fizzles down into the pit of his stomach. “We take care of the body first, _then_ we can decide how to deal with him.” Louis feels the blood drain from his face when they all turn in his direction.


	2. Chapter 2

After they all agree to the man’s terms about bringing Louis with them the next argument they have is naturally about how to treat him. Niall seems pretty set on binding his hands and feet so that he’s easier to keep an eye on. This suggestion makes the other two men speak up on his behalf with the tall one giving a firm _no_ as an answer.

“We’re not tying anyone up. That’s completely unnecessary.” Li tells him. “It’s not like he’s trying to run anymore.”

“And what if he does try again? Do you want to be the one to chase after him when he decides to tuck and roll out of a moving vehicle on the highway, because I don’t.”

Li scoffs at that like it’s the dumbest thing he has ever heard. Louis has half a mind to scoff as well, seeing as how he would never _ever_ under any circumstances throw himself out of a moving anything, _especially_ not on the fucking highway. Just thinking about it makes his stomach feel caught in his throat.

They continue to go back and forth on the subject, but the tall man doesn’t get involved in their morality debate. He instead walks over to where Louis’ phone is ringing, half covered in the grass and dirt. He hardly even glances at the screen before he slips it into his back pocket, then comes to stand over Louis and offers his hand to help him up from the ground. Louis blinks up at the silent invitation until the man gets tired of waiting and bends at the waist to pull him up. Li and Niall both stop and take notice when he helps steady Louis on his feet.

When Louis is comfortably upright again and significantly less light-headed, the man gestures for him to walk ahead towards the trees. He falls right in line behind Louis’ footsteps, and miraculously the other two fall into step behind him without a word.

The short walk to Louis’ nighttime escape is a bit different with three murderers at his back, but he tries not to focus on their presence as he navigates through the brush and the branches. At times the men are so quiet that Louis feels the urge to check over his shoulder to see if they’re still there, but fear of upsetting them and giving the blonde one more reason to distrust him keeps him from doing so. They could kill him if they wanted, if Louis became too much of a hassle. He’s sure the blonde one is leaning more towards that gruesome plan of action rather than letting him go anyway, so Louis does as he’s told and guides them back through the woods, one shaky step at a time.

When they reach the stream and the Range Rover comes into view, Louis starts to realize the inevitability of what’s about to happen. The three people behind him have stored a very real and very dead person inside of that vehicle. His heartbeat is hammering even though his strides become much slower. Louis drags his feet along in an attempt to delay witnessing the horrible scene, but someone urges him to keep moving each time he tries to stop.

He’s still trying to mentally prepare himself for the splattered blood and guts he’s about to see oozing from a corpse when Li mentions something about looking up a layout of the city to map the path of the stream and all of the surrounding bodies of water.

Louis lets out the breath he was holding when everybody stops moving to carry out his brilliant idea, but the break in walking doesn’t last long, because once the tall man sees that Niall and Liam aren’t arguing for once he grips the back of Louis’ arm and guides him to the back door of the SUV. He opens it for Louis when a few seconds have passed and Louis still hasn’t moved to do it himself.

Louis holds his breath again, terrified of what he might smell when the trapped air from the vehicle rushes out past his face. He feels a quick nudge at his back prompting him to climb inside, so he places one foot on the railing and pushes himself up.

Louis keeps his eyes shut tight the entire time he’s sliding into place on the seat. The heavy door snaps shut behind him, locking him inside the confines of the vehicle with a dead body that Louis is quite certain is resting in the empty space in the back. He has never liked small spaces, and not breathing for so long is only making him feel more claustrophobic. After only a few seconds he’s forced to take new air into his lungs; he’s happy to discover that the SUV smells nothing like he imagined it to. 

His eyes remain closed although he feels better about opening them since the vehicle doesn’t smell of rotting flesh like he suspected. When he chances a peek he does it slowly with his eyelids barely even parting as he takes a cautious look around. He gasps in surprise when he turns to the right and another person is there with him.

Louis had thought the tall man locked him inside by himself, yet here he is sitting in the seat next to Louis, just as quiet and still as the corpse stashed in the back.

His dark clothes blend in with the night where he’s leaned into the door, crumpled in on himself with his face hidden in the palms of his hands. He stays hunched over that way for a long time until finally he forces himself up with a heavy sigh and an ever heavier pair of green eyes that look right at Louis.

Louis tries to pretend like he wasn’t just blatantly staring at him, but it’s not like there’s much else to look at. He quickly averts his gaze to the floor when the man’s eyes land on him and stay there, locked on the side of Louis’ burning face.

Staying calm is easier said than done when Louis can still sense him staring.

His chest still feels like an elephant has been jumping around on it, but his breathing has been fairly normal since the attack he had earlier. It begins faltering again when Louis turns to face the window, catching the man’s reflection still zeroed in on him.

“You alright?” he frowns.

Louis nods once, quick and sharp, hearing his own panicked breaths picking up in his ears.

“…You don’t sound alright. Your breathing is all screwed up again,” he points out. Louis can still see his face out of the window’s reflection, which is why he nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels a hand land on his shoulder. Louis jolts at the touch, immediately coiling in on himself and shutting his eyes again.

The man snatches his hand back to give Louis some space after witnessing his reaction, but keeps his worried gaze locked on him.

Louis chances a look at the person next to him, but instead of the harsh expression he was expecting, the man’s eyes are soft with concern.

“I’m not going to hurt you or anything… I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He holds up both of his hands to Louis like some sort of promise that he won’t be harmed. His kind eyes paired with such an honest gesture creates a small fraction of relief in Louis’ chest that he’s more than grateful for.

Minutes tick by before Louis hears his breathing even back out. It’s quiet inside the vehicle, so Louis listens to the long even breaths the man takes beside him in order to regulate his own. Louis sinks back into his seat when his pace is back to normal, and although he keeps trying to avoid them, the pair of green eyes on the opposite end on the SUV are still burning a hole into the side of his face.

“Why do you do that?”

Normally Louis would be offended if someone asked him something like that out of nowhere, but it’s not like he’s in any position to tell this man to fuck off, so Louis shrugs once in response, keeping is eyes downcast.

“Is it- Do you have asthma or something? Is that why you take medication?”

“No,” Louis answers with his voice this time. When he looks up the man looks genuinely interested, so he offers more. “It’s anxiety. I don’t handle stress very well.”

“Well if that’s the case I think you might have ended up in the wrong place with the wrong people,” he chuckles. His eyes are less amused when he sees Louis frowning. Louis knows very well that he’s in the wrong place. He wishes more than anything that he could leave it. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I shouldn’t laugh about you or...all of this. Ignore me.” The man gives him a sad smile and then turns to stare out of his window at the other two men.

Sensing that their extremely brief conversation is thankfully over, Louis turns his face away to do the same. They spend the next couple of minutes in silence until the man speaks up again.

“….What’s your name?”

Louis gives him a blank look, reluctant to give an answer to such an unassuming and normal question. He tries to recall every murder mystery show or movie he has ever seen and remember the things you’re supposed to do versus the things that all the stupid people do that cause them to be killed before they can make it out alive. He tries, but he can’t specifically remember anyone saying not to give a name. He doesn’t think the man is asking to be intrusive or gain information to use it against him, so he responds.

“Louis,” he answers, wondering if he has just entered stupid person territory by giving his real name to his abductor. He should’ve lied and said something different. At this rate his family will be watching his own murder mystery episode sooner rather than later.

“Louis,” he repeats with the ghost of a smile, letting his tongue caress each syllable like he has never said it before.

Louis turns back to his window to berate himself for making such a dumb mistake when a quiet, “I’m Harry,” gets spoken in his direction.

Louis doesn’t give Harry’s name the same treatment by repeating it, he doesn’t even acknowledge that the man has said anything at all as he continues to look out of his window like whatever is out there is more interesting.

“ _Louis_ …” he says again with his deep, rumbling voice, sounding half-distracted. “What are you doing way out here this late anyway?”

“I could ask you the same question.” He watches Harry’s eyebrows rise a few centimeters at Louis’ mouthy response. Louis can’t believe those words actually came from him.

“Ah, so you’re not as scared of me as I thought,” he smirks. “Good. There’s no reason to be afraid of me.”

Out of the three of them, Harry is probably the least scary. He and Li are the most physically intimidating, but Harry is the one who has shown the most compassion towards him and his well-being, which is extremely odd considering the situation.

“Why are you being nice to me?”

Harry’s eyebrows scrunch together like Louis’ question has thrown him off. “Why wouldn’t I be? You didn’t mean to get yourself involved with us. You didn’t ask for any this.”

While Louis appreciates the sentiment, Harry’s kind words do nothing to make him feel better about being stuck here. “The other two want me dead,” he points out.

Harry frowns again, this time even deeper. “Niall and Li don’t want you dead. They’re just scared shitless. We all are, and it would have been great to deal with this as just the three of us, but you being here only makes it that much more nerve-wracking.” Harry gives him a sincere look of apology. “It’s not you, Louis. We just…we didn’t expect to see anyone else out here tonight.”

With his warm green eyes and his calm manner of speaking, Louis could almost feel just as sorry for them as he does for himself. “You could just let me go,” he suggests. “That would make everything a lot easier for everyone,” Louis adds, hoping to convince at least one of his captors that letting him live is a solid plan.

“You know we can’t do that.”

Louis sighs, deflated. The only things that Louis knows is that his chest hurts, he wants to go home, and he’s currently locked in a truck with a probable psychopath and a dead body.  “Why did you do it? Why did you murder someone?” Louis suddenly demands. He had originally planned to make himself as invisible as possible and ask as few questions as he could in order to stay on the men’s good sides, but something doesn’t feel right in the way things are being handled here. No one is holding him at gun point as a means of intimidation. The worst thing that has been suggested is tying Louis up so that he can’t run, and for murderers, even that doesn’t sound too horrible.

Harry fixes his mouth to say something several times, but before he can decide on an answer, Louis’ ringtone starts blaring from beneath him. Harry huffs at the annoying sound, lifting up to pull the phone out of his back pocket. He takes a moment to count the various missed calls from Louis’ mother and the couple of texts that could only be from Stan before silencing it and flipping it over again.

“She’ll just keep calling,” Louis threatens, “And sooner or later Stan will realize something’s wrong and start calling too.” Almost like his best friend is somewhere listening in, the phone starts to vibrate in Harry’s hand with a new call. His mother must have called him too.

Louis’ chest aches with the need to talk to them. “If you’d just let me talk to them for a just few-”

“No.” Harry’s voice is firm when he cuts off Louis’ request.

“I- I wouldn’t tell them where I am or what happened. They’re worried about me, Harry. I need to let them know that I’m alright, please.” Louis tries to match Harry’s sternness when he makes his request, but he knows it just sounds like futile begging.

Harry’s eyes flicker with the briefest sense of sympathy before he shakes it off and denies Louis’ request for a second time. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that. It’ll put us all in jeopardy.” The way Louis sees it, they’re already in jeopardy; three men who pick up a hostage while trying to carry out a murder and  create a new reason to argue every five minutes. They’re already fucked in Louis’ opinion.

Louis’ chest doesn’t cave in on him this time when Harry says no. Now he’s just angry with Harry and the rest of them for disrupting his night and his life by simply wandering into it and at _his_ fucking stream too.

“I want to go home,” he spits just as the two front doors to the vehicle open. The other two men hop up into their respective seats, catching the end of Louis’ very vocal demand.

“What’s he on about?” Niall asks as he’s fiddling with his key. And that’s another thing Louis is sick of; everyone talking about him and over him like he’s not even there. Li’s eyebrows furrow seeing Louis’ discontent but he doesn’t ask any questions.

“What did you find out?” Harry asks in lieu of actually answering Niall’s question.

Li takes over now, explaining that the water doesn’t look like it gets much deeper around this area, but the small stream leads to a much bigger one just outside of the city. He tells them about an area of it that looks pretty wide, and therefore must also be deep. The other two nod in agreement, commending Li for a job well done on researching, but Louis rolls his eyes, fed up with idiot criminals who can’t even properly dispose of a body, yet have the gall to hold him here against his will. His next words fall out of his mouth by accident.

“Why bother with streams when you could use a river?”

The inside of the vehicle gets quiet when they realize who said it.

Niall frowns at him in the rearview mirror, still referring to him like Louis isn’t even in the truck. “What’s he on about?” he asks again.

Harry turns to him now, no longer ignoring him as his eyebrows scrunch together  in the same manner as the other two men’s. “Yeah, Louis. What’d you say?”

Niall frowns deeper. “Who’s Louis?”

Liam rolls his eyes. “Obviously him.”

“How did you make him to tell you his name?” Niall wonders aloud.

“I didn’t _make_ him do anything. I simply asked and he told me.” Harry explains in a tone that says he’s quickly losing patience. “Now what did you say about a river?” Harry asks, directing his attention back to him.

Louis feels his cheeks flare and his sternum ache with all of the unwanted attention.

“N- Nothing.”

“You did say something,” Li confirms. “I heard you.”

Harry leans a bit closer to him, his voice soft and encouraging. “You can tell us what you’re thinking. We won’t hurt you, Louis, I promise.”

There are three pairs of eyes on him when Louis gives in to Harry’s appeal. He takes a deep breath to try and shake off his nerves. “I said you should use the river instead of the streams. I don’t know where you want the-” Louis hesitates at the word with a flush of his cheeks, “- _the_ _body_ to end up _,_ but it won’t get far using a stream because it’s too shallow and there’s not enough current. You should use a river instead.”

“But they’re too public. People are always around.”

Louis shakes his head. “No they’re not, not late at night once the pubs close. And plus, people pull dead bodies out the Lee all the time. You wouldn’t be the first to think of dumping someone there.”

A blanket of silence surrounds them as everyone churns Louis’ words around in their minds.

“It’s already almost midnight,” Niall points out. “We could kill three or four hours and then do it at the Lee. The area would be empty just like he said...”

Li nods to himself, muttering as he thinks aloud. “Now that you mention it, the police did pull a man from the Lee a few months back…they never could figure out how he got there in the first place…”

Both men fall silent to get Harry’s stamp of approval on the plan. Harry shrugs his indifference, but the way his eyes subconsciously move to stare a hole in the back seat gives him away. He sighs with what Louis can only assume is remorse. He straightens up, resigned when he lifts his head to look at them again. “It’s the best plan we’ve got, so I say we go for it.”

There are no high-fives or enthusiastic smiles for cementing their plans. They all seem determined, but most definitely a bit sad at the prospect, and somehow Louis has gone from unwilling participant to mastermind behind the cover-up of a murder and he is clueless as to how that has happened.

He, Louis William Tomlinson, just lended a hand in helping three murderers devise a disposal plan for a person they killed.

He’s curious is the thing, and Louis feels his gaze turning towards the back seat without his consent when he realizes that he has never actually laid eyes on this mysterious _body_ that everyone keeps talking about. Niall starts the vehicle, so Louis discreetly shifts his body up and at an angle so he’s able to see down into the empty space behind him.

At first it’s too dark to make out anything, but eventually his eyes adjust and register the gentle bend in the limbs of a slender dark-haired man wearing ripped jeans and black t-shirt. He’s on his back, with his neck bent at an angle that displays the sharp cut of his jaw and his long eyelashes that look like they brush over the apples of his cheeks. The moonlight shining in through the window illuminates the rich color of his skin as they drive over the rocks and his head sways with the motion. This beautiful man looks like he could be sleeping if not for the small trail of blood leading away from the side of his forehead.

Louis jerks away from the man, sitting back down in his seat as his chest heaves in and out. It wasn’t quite as bad as he thought it would be, but the fact still remains that there are five people in this vehicle and one of them isn’t alive.

The thought feeds his anxiety as he chastises himself for even opening his mouth to these dangerous men. It was extraordinarily dumb of him to say anything at all and now he has gone and made himself a fucking accomplice. Who’s to say they won’t throw him into the Lee as well now that Louis has provided them with a plan. They killed this man and they could easily do it again if the mood strikes them.

His throat starts closing in on him when a soft hand lands on top of his. He immediately jumps at Harry’s touch, but instead of snatching away again, Harry links their fingers together and squeezes tight.

“Breathe,” he whispers so the others can’t hear. Louis’ so conflicted about listening to his abductor versus kicking the door open and running like Niall predicted that his breathing only gets worse.

Harry’s eyebrows crinkle before he starts to rub small soothing patterns into the back of Louis’ hand. It takes significantly longer this time for Louis to get himself under control, but he and Harry are able to do it quietly without alerting the other two that something is wrong.

Harry grins at him in the dark when Louis takes a giant deep breath and sinks into his seat. “Much better,” Harry says a bit too loudly, catching the attention of Niall.

“What’d you say, Harry?”

Louis glances over, hoping Harry won’t tell them that he just had mini-attack in the back of this Range Rover. “I uh… I said we need to make a pit stop.”

Niall and Liam both furrow their eyebrows at that. “Uh, to where?” Niall chuckles. “Is there a pub that you know of that admits corpses?” Niall’s grin dies when no one else finds the humor in his joke. Li gives him a murderous look for even attempting to make light of their situation.

“No,” Harry says, unperturbed. “We’re going to stop by Louis’. He needs his medication.”

They all jerk forward a bit as Niall’s foot slides off the gas. “You want to go to his _house?_ ” he asks incredulously.

Liam gives him the same bewildered look. “Yeah, Harry, that doesn’t sound like a smart move at all. Anybody could see us.” Even Louis knows it’s a dumb idea, but he doesn’t say anything because home is the best shot he has at getting away. The vehicle is silent, but Louis just waits, because if there’s one thing he has learned tonight it’s that the other two pretty much do whatever Harry says.

Niall caves right on time, answering Louis’ prayers. “I mean….I guess it’ll be fine if we stay hidden and someone goes with him. It’ll just be long enough to get his medicine. No one could suspect us in that short amount of time….right?”

No one confirms or denies as Niall glances at Louis in the rearview, acknowledging him as a living and breathing being with a name for the first time all night. Niall clears his throat and locks eyes with him.

“So uh, _Louis_ …where do you live?”

Harry encourages Louis with a small, victorious grin and a slight squeeze to his hand before letting go.

“Um….take the next left turn,” Louis instructs him.


	3. Chapter 3

A light drizzle started up again just minutes after Louis started giving Niall directions to his flat. The rain is falling in big, heavy drops by the time Niall inconspicuously pulls the Range Rover to a stop about a block away from where Louis originally instructed.

Liam makes them wait a few minutes as they monitor the street for anyone suspicious that may cause them problems. Louis starts to feel anxious sitting in the quiet for so long just outside of his home. He’s grateful when they deem the area clear and Harry decides it’s time to go inside. Harry pulls his hood over his head as he reaches for the door handle.

“Please be careful.” Liam turns to meet Harry’s eyes with a serious expression. He spares a quick glance at Louis too, but the majority of his concern clearly rests with his friend.

“We’ll be right back,” Harry assures him. “It probably won’t even take ten minutes.” Harry is so sure that everything will be fine, but Louis can tell that no one else in the vehicle shares his outlook.

Harry pushes the door open and Louis slides out behind him into the cold. Water splashes up from the ground when their feet hit the pavement, but Louis hardly even notices the sogginess of his shoes since he’s getting absolutely drenched from above as well. Harry takes off at a jog towards the building to get out of the rain. He swiftly takes Louis’ hand in his to pull him along at his pace.

He lets go when they reach the stairs, and just like before, Harry kindly gestures for Louis to lead the way. He’s still not completely comfortable with it, but he is less uneasy about having Harry at his back this time as they ascend in silence, because it’s much better than having the three of them skulking behind him.

“Is this it?” Harry asks, when they come to a stop outside of one of the doors. He takes a careful look around to make sure no one else is around as Louis searches in his pocket for the key.

“This is it,” he confirms, stepping forward to turn the lock.

“And you’re sure there’s nobody else here?” 

Louis stills at being asked the same question he was asked the entire ride here. Of course there isn’t anyone inside of his flat, but Louis could be lying for all Harry knows. It’s unwise for Harry to do so, but Louis can sense the way he trusts and believes him when Louis shakes his head no.

They step inside and Louis closes the door behind them. He rests his back against it and looks around his home with anxious eyes, wondering what kind of stunt he’s going to have to pull to get out of this. Harry watches him from where he’s standing with his hands innocently clasped behind his back. He looks almost as nervous as Louis feels. Louis didn’t think that was even possible.

Harry ends up breaking the long silence. “So…is your medication in here?”

“Oh, uh, no it’s not. It’s actually in my bedroom,” Louis explains. He’s shaking from the way his soaked clothes are clinging to his body. All he can focus on is the pool of water forming around his feet and the way his heart rate has increased just by standing here.

“Oh, okay,” Harry nods. His eyes awkwardly dance around the small living room before landing back on Louis. “So um…I’m not trying to rush you or anything, but are you going to go get it by any chance?”

Louis’ cheeks warm as he pries himself from the door. “Oh right. Of course. I’m sorry. I’ll just-” Louis dismisses himself as he starts walking toward his room. His footsteps slow when he notices Harry trailing along behind him. Harry’s large green eyes turn apologetic at being caught.

“I’m sorry I have to follow you around like this,” he offers. “I know you’re not going to do anything and it looks silly, but I have to make sure.”

He does look truly sorry for having to babysit him like a toddler.  Louis would prefer a bit more independence, but it’s not like he expected for Harry to give him free reign of his home when he said he could pick up his pills.

Harry continues to follow him, but at a much further distance than before. Inside of his room, Louis picks up his prescription bottle from the bedside table and uncaps it. He dumps a few pills into the palm of his hand, wondering what he should do as he mentally calculates the quantity he may need for length of time he’ll be gone.

If the situation tonight is handled correctly then he could be back here in his flat by morning, ready to take his six o’clock dose like nothing ever happened, but if for some reason it doesn’t; if they decide to not let him go and have to resort to other options…

Louis’ fingers start to tremble as he wonders how long they’ll let him live and how they would do it if letting him go was no longer part of their very loose agreement. He feels short of breath again when a sickening thought creeps into his mind; the realization that he won’t need his prescription at all if he’s dead.

Harry is by his side in an instant when Louis slumps down onto his bed. He reaches for the empty cup from the bedside table and runs out of the room without asking any questions or trying to get Louis to speak.

Louis is still working on gaining control when Harry comes back to kneel in front of him. He quickly slides Louis’ handful of pills into his palm, replacing them with the cup which is now miraculously filled to the brim with cool water. He places a single pill between Louis’ thumb and index finger and praises him as he swallows it down.

Harry tries to get him to drink some of the water with it, but Louis rejects it, impatiently reaching out his hand for a second dose when the tightening sensation in his chest grows. Harry eyes him warily. He eventually gives in when Louis’ hand doesn’t move away and his eyes start to look as panicked as his breathing pattern sounds.

He stands and takes a couple of steps back to give Louis some space as the minutes tick by. He speaks up when his breaths are less erratic.

“Are you going to be okay?”

 Louis watches as he takes a few steps closer until he’s sitting on the bed too. Louis would usually flinch away from Harry’s close proximity. It’s either his medicine kicking in or the fact that he’s not so frightened of Harry anymore that allows Louis to speak so freely.  “I will be,” he answers. “The pills take some time to work. I never miss doses and today was already hard before I even went to the park…it hasn’t gotten this bad in a long time.”

He can see the sympathy in Harry’s eyes when he realizes that he and his friends are the reason for Louis’ setback.

“What causes you to panic so much? It seems like one minute you’re fine and then the next you’re hyperventilating and gasping for air…it’s scary to watch,” he admits. Louis averts his eyes. It’s scarier to be the one it’s happening to.

“Lots of things cause me stress. It’s mostly just the stuff that I feel or think too much about.” Louis has been overthinking about lots of things today, mostly whether or not he’ll live to see tomorrow. He accidentally blurts out the question that has been haunting him all night. “Are you going to kill me?”

Harry’s hand is warm where he places it on top of his. He has grown used to Harry’s unexpected touches by now so he doesn’t pull away, but the small show of affection still makes his skin burn beneath it.  “Of course not, Louis. I’ve already told you we aren’t going to hurt you.”

He sounds so sincere, but Louis still doesn’t trust it as he pulls his hand away to rest in his lap. “How can I believe that when the whole reason we’re even here is because you killed someone else? Someone you _did_ want to hurt. What makes me any different from the man in the back of the truck?” These are reasonable questions and yet Harry frowns as if Louis’ distrustfulness is absurd. Louis stares him down until his eyes turn sad with the realization that Louis is right to question his own safety, especially given the circumstances. It’s obvious that Harry gets it, but it’s not enough to convince him to let Louis walk free.

Louis stands to look out of his bedroom window before Harry can verbalize any excuses or lies to placate him. He knows he’s merely the hostage here, but Louis feels he at least deserves some sort of explanation for what’s going on and what’s going to happen to him.

It’s not raining as hard anymore he notices, but the puddles of water collecting in the street remind him of how cold his damp clothes are. He walks to his closet and grabs a dry hoodie for himself. He has already started taking off his top layer when he remembers Harry there.

He’s still sitting on Louis’ bed wearing a wounded expression, no doubt from the truth of Louis’ words. The miserable droop to his clothes and hair only makes him look more pitiful, so Louis grabs another hoodie from inside of his closet and gently tosses it in his direction.  Harry glances up at him in surprise when it lands in his lap.

“You’ll get sick walking around like that all night,” Louis tells him. Although Louis can’t quite decide how he feels about him, Harry has helped him in more ways than he can count tonight. The least Louis can do is give him something warm to wear.

“Thank you.” His lips turn up into a small whisper of a grin, and the crazy thing is Louis can tell that he’s as grateful for the hoodie as he is for Louis being kind to him.

Louis turns away again to strip out of his wet hoodie and discovers that his shirt is soaked through with rain too. He grabs two fresh ones, guessing that Harry will need one as well, but when he turns to throw it at him he catches Harry stripping out of his wet hoodie with nothing else on underneath it.

Louis lets his curiosity get the best of him. “What happened to your shirt?

There’s a slight tinge of pink to Harry’s cheeks as Louis stares him down for a change. Harry struggles to  catch the shirt he’s thrown while balancing the rest of the clothing items in his hands.

“I uh- I didn’t have time to grab one. I didn’t think about it.”

Louis raises an eyebrow at him. “You didn’t think to bring a shirt to go murder someone?” Louis almost laughs at the thought, but something in Harry’s expression seems too defensive for joking.

His wet hoodie makes a loud slapping sound as it hits the floor. “I didn’t kill anybody, Louis.” The conviction in his eyes makes Louis shrink back from the small outburst. “I know you won’t believe me, but it was an accident. I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even there when it happened. I-”

Harry freezes when they hear an impatient tapping coming from Louis’ front door. Harry digs his phone out of his pocket, giving Louis a confused look when neither of the other boys have called or even texted about coming up. The medication that Louis took is helping to keep him from completely losing it at the moment, but he is frozen to the spot in fear nonetheless.

They listen for more knocks however the next sound they hear is the creak of the front door as someone steps inside. The sounds of someone muttering about the door being unlocked causes both of their faces to whiten as their eyes meet from across the room and realize that the voice doesn’t belong to either Li or Niall.

His medication usually causes him to feel a bit sluggish, but his heart is absolutely pounding  when his mother’s voice calls his name from somewhere inside his flat. A few seconds pass before she calls him again however her voice is much closer this time.

There’s panic in Harry’s eyes as he stands there, unmoving as he grips his phone, and although Louis couldn’t be happier to have his mother in his flat, there is no more of a dangerous place she could be.  Louis is already tied into this fucked up situation. He doesn’t need his mother getting involved as well.

When she calls for him again Louis sprints for his bedroom door, making it to the threshold just before she does to block her from coming inside.

“ _Louis!”_  She jumps back, startled as she registers her elusive son standing in front of her. Relief washes over her features. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all night! I was so worried something had happened to you.” She looks like she might hug him until she realizes he’s half-dressed. She frowns at the flush of his skin and peeks into his room. She very nearly misses Harry standing there, but her surprised _oh_ lets Louis know when she spots him.

“ _Mum_ ,” he grits out, trying to make his face and voice convey the message that she needs to leave and preferably now, but she ignores his plea as her inquisitive eyes continue roving over the scene.

“I didn’t realize you had company. I just came over to make sure you were alright when I didn’t hear from you, and I- I…” Her words taper off after she glances at Louis’ bare chest again and then notices his discarded shirt on the floor. Her cheeks turn a bight shade when she realizes that Harry is in a similar state of undress beside the bed which Louis regretfully left in complete disarray this morning. “Oh, dear God,” she breathes.

Any other time Louis would be mortified at his mother drawing this sort of conclusion, but he’ll take the awkwardness over her getting hurt or worse any day. “ _Mum_. This isn’t a good time.” He’s trying for subtlety, but she still isn’t going anywhere. She looks horrified at walking into whatever she thinks she has stumbled upon between the two of them as she pokes her head in at Harry who is now fighting to maintain composure.

“I am _so_ sorry for bursting in here like this, uh-” she looks to her son to provide his name but Louis hesitates, wondering if he should give Harry’s real name or make one up. Several beats pass without a sound and she raises a scandalized yet amused eyebrow at her son who seems unable to remember the identity the half-naked man in his room.

“I’m Harry,” he answers politely. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She looks mildly impressed with his dimply smile as she issues him a weird half-wave that only makes Harry grin harder.

She smiles back at him before lowering her voice to her son, sounding a lot more excited about Louis’ supposed one night stand than any mother should. “Well, Lou, I can see you’ve got your hands full, so I’ll leave you.”

Louis squeezes his eyes shut, wishing more than anything that she would just stop talking.

Sensing that she’s interfering, his mother is now more willing to be led away. He walks his mother to the front door. He can feel Harry watching from his bedroom the entire time.

“You had me worried sick, but I guess I can forgive you this once,” she grins. She wraps him in a quick hug, probably assuming her whispering is low enough to prevent Harry from hearing when she drops a kiss to her son’s forehead. “It’s good to see you having some fun, love. You deserve to live a little. I’ll call in the morning to chat alright? Same time as always.”

“Okay, great.” Louis gives her a tight smile as he guides her in the direction of the door, all but pushing her out of it. “Goodnight.”

She glances back at Harry where he’s waiting near Louis’ bedroom. “Or maybe I should call a bit later than usual?” she smirks. “You might need the extra sleep.”

Louis’ jaw drops in horror. His face burns in his final attempt to get rid of her. “Seven-fifteen is fine! Love you. Bye.”

He can still hear her giggling when the door shuts behind her, however Harry’s grin is a million times worse when Louis turns to look at him. “She’s lovely.” Louis doesn’t take much comfort in his mother and his abductor’s mutual like for each other.

The color in Louis’ cheeks drain, wondering whether or not Li and Niall saw his mother walking up to his flat. If by some miracle they missed her the first time, she probably won’t be able to sneak past them again.  Louis prays that they don’t stop her and also that Harry won’t tell them she was there.

“Please,” he begs as soon as he realizes that his mother may end up getting involved regardless of him removing her from the situation. “I didn’t know she’d come looking for me. I didn’t think she’d just show up like that, I swear. She didn’t suspect anything was wrong, so there’s no reason to get her involved.”

Harry’s smile fades. “Louis, I know. You don’t have to worry about her. No one’s going to hurt your mother. No one’s going to hurt you either,” he assures him with crinkled eyebrows.

“But Li and Niall-”

“Hey,” Harry crosses the room in a few long strides. He reaches out like he’s about to touch Louis’ face, but stops at the last second. When Louis doesn’t immediately jerk away from him like he has in the past, Harry allows his hand to gently rest on his shoulder instead. “Nothing is going to happen to you or your mum okay? You have my word. Li and Niall would never do something like that, and neither would I.”

Nothing that comes out of Harry’s mouth should be comforting or even believable, and yet Louis wants to trust every word that he says. Besides murdering a man in cold blood, Harry hasn’t yet given him any reason to distrust him…it’s a fragile sense of security, but it gives Harry’s promises some weight.

Louis nods, taking a deep breath to get a grip on himself. “All I want is for her to be safe. You can do whatever to me… just don’t hurt her please.” He doesn’t know what he’d do without his mother; what anyone in his family would do. His chest hurts just thinking about it.

Harry’s thumb traces a faint line across Louis’ jaw. “You have nothing to worry about, Louis. I promise.” The warmth of his hand falls away after Harry coaxes a quick nod out of him. Louis blames the tingly chill running down his arms on the fact that he’s still topless rather than accrediting any part of it to Harry.

They return to this bedroom in silence to resume getting dressed, but Louis can’t help but worry about his mother’s safety even after Harry’s reassurances. He’s actually glad for the distraction when Harry smirks over at him and stops his mind from spinning.

“Your mum’s pretty cool.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Not really.”

“She is,” Harry says matter-of-factly. “She was alright with walking in on you and me, so she’s either a really chill person or she’s just used to it by now.”

Louis’ eyes widen at Harry’s presumptuous statement. “She’s definitely not used to it. Something like this has _never_ happened before.”

Harry snorts a laugh just as he finishes pulling Louis’ hoodie over his head. “You mean she’s never walked in on you?” There’s a wicked smirk on Harry’s lips that implies his own familiarity with getting caught. “Not even on you and a girlfriend when you were younger?” he goads.

“I’d have to have a girlfriend first, so no, she hasn’t…” Harry hums a bit disappointedly, but doesn’t say anything to that. He seems content to sit on Louis’ bed and smile to himself as Louis finishes getting dressed. “Although,” Louis continues, “There was one time she did walk in on me kissing a boy from school while we were supposed to be studying when I was ten.” Harry’s eyes widen in disbelief, possibly from Louis’ age and the fact that he spent his days as a youth snogging boys. “Needless to say I ended up failing my test…so did he.”

Louis doesn’t quite know why he feels compelled to small talk with this man and even make an effort to joke around with him, but it’s well worth it when Harry’s face crinkles up and then relaxes into a full bodied cackle that causes him to hold his stomach as he laughs. It’s loud and hilarious, and Louis hates to admit that his dimpled smile looks good on him, so he turns away from Harry to grin about it.

Eventually Harry stops giggling long enough to realize that they’ve been gone for a lot longer than he said they’d be. He doesn’t bring up the topic of Louis’ wild love life again until they’re walking out.

“So she’s really only caught you that _one_ time when you were a kid?” he smirks. “My mother used to catch me doing all sorts of stuff. I’m surprised she’s not blind.” His eyes are bright and curious about Louis’ past. Sadly, Louis doesn’t have many jaw-dropping tales to offer him.

“I was a pretty quiet kid…I didn’t go out much as a teenager or even now.” The most Louis can handle these days is an hour or two out with Stan before his nerves are so shot that he has to leave. “The most exciting thing to happen to me was moving out on my own,” Louis tells him.

 “That, and now riding around the city with us,” Harry points out.

Riding around the city is a delicate way of describing tonight. It’s a bit morbid, but even so Louis feels a tiny grin forming on his lips. “I don’t know if I’d call being held captive exciting per se, but I guess I can add it to the list.”

*

Louis slides into the Range Rover with less apprehension this time with Harry following close behind and enough pills in his pocket to last him a couple of days.

The light, airy feeling that Harry left him with is smothered when the door shuts them inside. Louis keeps his eyes forward, determined to focus on other things when his brain betrays him and thinks of the lifeless man in the back.

“That was quite a lengthy pit stop,” Niall mutters. “What took so long?”

Harry tries to downplay the amount of time they were away. “I don’t think we were gone for that long.”

Niall scoffs as he turns the key in the ignition. “Long enough to dry off and change clothes…” he mutters. He looks to Liam for support, but gets none. He resorts to insults soon after that. “That hoodie is too small for you,” he grumbles.

Louis looks over to see Harry grinning to himself as Niall continues to pout about having to wait. He turns his smile towards Louis, keeping his warm eyes locked with his when he finally responds to Niall’s comment. “I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Niall frowns into the rearview mirror at Harry’s gentle tone like maybe his friend has lost his mind. Louis takes one look at the way the sleeve of the hoodie barely reaches Harry’s wrist and thinks Harry might be crazy too, but people think Louis is insane every now and then, so he can’t judge.

Louis returns Harry’s grin when he winks at him as Niall pulls out onto the street. Louis’ mind still wanders to the back seat with every turn or bump of the vehicle, but the man in the back is a lot easier to ignore when he focuses on the short space between his and Harry’s fingers where they rest on the seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're liking it so far :)


	4. Chapter 4

They spend the next hour driving around with no real destination. Louis is content to listen to the very soft music playing inside the vehicle rather than think too much about anything else. He and Harry spare a couple of glances at one another, but Harry seems just as comfortable sitting in silence as Louis. The only two people saying anything at all are the two sitting up front who can’t even agree on which roads are the most inconspicuous this time of night.

Louis wishes the music were loud enough to drown them out, but when Niall growls out of frustration the sound draws Louis’ attention to the front.

“But I’m _starving_ and we’ve been in this truck all fucking night.”

Li narrows his eyes at him. “What do you want any of us to do about it? It’s not like we’re on a road trip and we’ve got bags of snacks stashed somewhere in the back.” Louis’ pulse quickens, remembering what _is_ in back, or rather who.  “It won’t kill you to go a few more hours without something to eat.” Li says it in a tone that leaves very little up for discussion on the matter but Niall shakes his head in disagreement.

“We could stop somewhere really quick. It would only take a few minutes.”

The atmosphere takes a drastic dip when Li whips his head around to gawk at the blonde. “You want to stop off somewhere to _eat_ when there’s a _dead body_ in the back of your Range Rover?”

Niall shrugs nonchalantly like he doesn’t see the issue. “Well, yeah.”

Louis’ eyes involuntarily shut when Liam responds with a shrill, “Are you out of your fucking mind, Niall?!”

“No! I’m hungry,” he states simply. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one here who could use some food.” His eyes search for the two people sharing the middle seat in the rearview mirror. They briefly land on Louis, but Niall thinks better of it and chooses Harry as an ally instead. “Haz, you’re hungry right?”

Harry raises a brow at being dragged into their fight, but answers anyway. “I think a bit of food would be good for all of us…like you said, we haven’t had anything in hours and we’re not going home anytime soon.” Or maybe not ever, Louis thinks bitterly. He doesn’t dare say it aloud, choosing instead to stare out of the window and mind his own business.

Li now turns his wrath towards Harry, albeit a quiet, more respectful one. “Harry, we’ve already stopped once for you and Louis. We can’t keep risking being seen or caught, surely you realize that.” He looks near tears, trying to get someone besides himself to see reason.

Harry’s eyes flicker over to Louis when Li mentions him. Neither of them wanted to stop for his medication, but Harry convinced them to do so in a matter of minutes. Louis is certain it’s about to happen yet again when Harry takes a deep, unyielding breath. “I don’t think it’s a horrible idea, Liam. We can send one person to get food for all of us, that way we don’t risk being caught.”

Now Niall’s neck is the one threating to snap as he whips around. The SUV swerves with the motion as he attempts to look Harry in the eye. “And eat in _here?”_ Niall asks, scandalized. “ _With_ the body?”

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Liam’s eyes are fierce as he glares at him. Louis wonders if they’re like this all the time or if murders make the two of them particularly quarrelsome.

“Why can’t we just cover him up and go sit down like civilized people? It would take us fifteen to twenty minutes at most. I don’t see why we should have to eat in here like fucking savages.” When no one seems to agree, Niall turns to the only other living soul in the truck for help. “Right, Louis?”

Everyone turns their attention towards him and Louis freezes. He is determined to keep quiet until Harry speaks up in his gravelly voice to encourage him.

“Yeah, Louis… this implicates you too. What do you think we should do? Are you hungry?”

Is he hungry? Louis is _starving_ ; has been for hours, so if they’re going to let him eat then he definitely doesn’t want to do it in here where a dead man rests just on the other side of his seat. He avoids Liam’s heavy gaze when he answers. “I guess I wouldn’t mind a chance to stretch my legs...”

“Yes!” Niall, cheers.

Liam pales at his words, turning to Harry for help once again. “Of course he wants to leave the truck. We’re holding him here by force.” He argues. “What if he says something to someone or tries to escape? What if we run into someone we know?” Louis honestly hadn’t even thought of that. He really just wants something to eat at this point as well as something to inhale other than the stale air of the vehicle’s interior.

Harry’s eyes are tender as he watches Louis with a fond grin. “He wouldn’t do that,” Harry decides. And he’s right, because at this point Louis would probably be in just as much trouble as them if they were caught. Louis likes to think he’s pretty trustworthy, but no one besides Harry seems to share his opinion.

Li already looks defeated before he tries to challenge Harry’s decision to turn his vote. “Harry, you can’t know that. We don’t know anything about him Haz, please.”  

Louis knows by Harry’s set expression that Liam has already lost. It’s confirmed when Harry responds with a firm, “I’ll keep an eye on him,” and no one else says another word about it.

*

Niall drives down a busy street near a club filled with so many people that many of them have opted for hanging out on the sidewalk. There are people walking along the street and running to catch up with their friends almost everywhere they go, so they end up stopping in an area that is less crowded.

A diner on the corner of an empty street is the place they settle on. Niall parks just across from it before cutting the engine. He tells Louis to grab the blanket in the back and drape it over the lifeless man in case someone gets curious about the SUV and decides to peek inside. Niall’s request makes Louis wildly uncomfortable as an invisible weight crushes down on his chest, and even though he’s being practically glared at by Liam for not pulling his weight, Louis can’t bring himself to do it.

Harry ends up doing it in the end, his eyes filled with silent understanding when he takes the blanket from Louis’ hands. He places it neatly on top of the body and lets it settle around the man’s form. The outline of his face is still visible, so Harry spends time pinching the middle of the blanket to distort the shape until his outline is unrecognizable.

Once he and the other two are satisfied that everything looks as ordinary as it possibly could, they all hop out and walk across the street towards the blinking open sign in the window.

Louis wonders how they must look to the rest of the world; a group of young men out on a Friday night who look dressed for bed rather than partying, whose dining preference is a run-down diner several minutes away from all of the popular pubs. The woman behind the counter raises a brow at their late-night group and the way Liam unconsciously peeks over his shoulder at the truck as they’re being seated but she doesn’t seem suspicious enough to ask any questions.

They sit in a leather booth with deep tears that reveal the less attractive styrofoam cushion hidden beneath. Liam slides in on one side with Niall following behind him. Louis and Harry slide in on the side opposite them.

They all grab a menu from the stack lined up against the wall and start reading with every one of them systematically looking out of the shop window to make sure everything is alright.

Eating takes a bit longer than the fifteen minutes that Niall predicted, but no one, including Liam, seems too upset about a few extra minutes away from the truck.

They get a couple of strange looks from the couple of people hanging out this late. Louis keeps his head down the entire time they’re walking out so that he blends in, but he’s sure the woman and the few customers in the shop can hear how loud his heart is pounding.

The atmosphere is thankfully less intense as they walk across the street. Harry holds the door open for him when they return to the truck, and like some sort of masochist the first thing Louis does is think about the dead man in the back.

Almost like he enjoys making his stomach turn after his greasy meal, Louis shifts up onto his knees to peek over the seat like the man may not be there anymore.

Louis eyes search for the indentions of the man’s face beneath the blanket along with the sharp jut of his chin that Harry worked so hard to cover up but couldn’t, but Louis can’t quite make it out. He stares down into the darkness for a long time trying to remember if the man was positioned that way when they left. Harry kneels beside him after enough time has passed that it now looks odd for Louis to still be staring.

“What is it, Lou?”

Louis frowns, looking up to meet Harry’s curious gaze. He wants to tell Harry what he’s thinking, but stops when he realizes how crazy it will sound outside of his head. “It’s nothing.”

Harry raises an eyebrow at him. “You aren’t acting like it’s nothing.”

Louis peers down at the man again, feeling more convinced by the second that he’s in a different position than the one Harry left him in. He knows Harry won’t judge him. He hasn’t judged Louis all night long, but it still feels silly to say it out loud.

“Wasn’t his face turned towards the ceiling when you covered him up, or am I seeing things?”

Niall and Liam turn at Louis’ question but neither of them say anything. Liam watches him with narrowed eyes, but lets Harry deal with him, choosing instead to continue mapping their route with Niall.

Harry’s eyes are patient when he offers Louis a kind smile. “Louis, everything is just as we left it. We could see from the shop window, remember? No one even walked by let alone moved him.”

Louis is aware that no one has been in here tampering with things. That wasn’t what he was suggesting at all. “I know, but…I was just sure that- that-” Harry’s eyes narrow on him now as he tries to figure out what exactly Louis is proposing.

Louis stutters for a moment before realizing that this whole conversation is pointless.  The man in the back is as stiff as he was half an hour ago. Nothing has changed except for Louis and his ability to keep a handle on his imagination. The same thing had happened to him at his grandfather’s funeral when he was six, and just like then, Louis knows better than to say anything more.

“Never mind,” Louis says with scarlet cheeks. He settles down with his back against the seat so he can no longer see the man at all.

Harry doesn’t seem to think that he is losing his mind, but he still asks if Louis’ feeling alright.

“Yes,” Louis nods. “I’m fine…I’m just tired is all.”


	5. Chapter 5

It’s not long before the streets begin to clear out and the drunken packs of people start to diminish before their eyes. There are still a few small groups lingering here and there, but the city is a lot quieter now that the temperature has dropped and it’s nearing three in the morning. Louis can’t even remember the last time he was out this late at night. He never makes it this long when he and Stan go out. By this time of night he’s usually in bed.

The vehicle descends into silence as the clock draws closer to five and the reality of what that means starts to settle in. After a while of no one speaking, Niall and Li start up a very hushed conversation in the front that draws Louis’ attention away from the window. He listens hard, but he can’t make anything out, and not knowing what they’re saying and whether or not it’s about him makes Louis nervous. After all, Niall was the one who initially didn’t trust Louis, however he now feels as though Liam is the one who is out for him.

Louis leans forward to listen in and his movements capture Harry’s attention. Louis gives up eavesdropping when Harry blinks over at him with wide, green eyes.

“Louis? Are you okay?”

He briefly meets Harry’s gaze and slides back against the seat. He realizes that he may be acting overly paranoid, but Louis is still unsure of where he stands with these men. He wishes more than anything that he could hear their discussion.

Louis’ loud exhale does nothing but make Harry’s eyes turn more troubled.

“I’m alright,” Louis tells him, but Harry continues to watch him like he can force the truth out of him if he stares at Louis long enough.

Having Harry’s full attention doesn’t frighten him anymore, not like it used to. He actually kind of likes it now that he knows that Harry isn’t nearly as frightening as he once thought. The grin on Louis’ lips feels out of place as he turns to face him. His grin grows even wider when Louis can’t help but find humor in the way big, scary, and intimidating Harry is everything except those things. If anything he’s mostly just a chronic worrier when it comes to Louis. “I’m fine,” Louis tells him.

It’s a bold move, but it feels easy when Louis reaches for Harry’s hand to give it a light squeeze. His expression immediately softens as if Louis’ happiness while being held by them is the most important factor in this whole situation, and again Louis wonders how such a kind-hearted man ended up here in the first place.

Louis is so distracted by trying to figure Harry out that he doesn’t notice the new silence surrounding them now that Niall and Li are no longer whispering. Louis jumps from Niall loudly clearing his throat to get their attention.

“Li thinks we should make sure we’ve covered every end of this thing so that it can’t be traced back to us. He says we probably need to wipe the Range Rover…get rid of any evidence of the body ever being in here. I agree.”

Louis is relieved to hear that the topic of their whispering wasn’t about erasing all evidence of _him_ being here. Cleaning up after themselves is something that most murderers do, he guesses. Louis would be surprised if they didn’t at least attempt to get rid of the evidence.

Harry nods at Niall’s words and Li’s idea. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know…” Li begins. “I know blood always shows up under a black light when people investigate. I don’t think there’s much back there, but we need to get rid of any stains just in case. They say bleach always makes it look worse and more suspicious. We’ll need to use something else.”

“Good,” Niall scoffs. “I don’t want the stench of bleach clinging to my interior for the next ten years and I don’t want the color ruined either.” Louis’ eyes widen at Niall’s comment. If it were his vehicle, Louis would be more concerned about the fact that a dead man was rolling around the back of it rather than the smell of the cleaner they choose.

The three of them discuss it for a long time, going back and forth about what they should use to erase any connection they have to this night. Louis’ breath catches when Harry’s palm comes to lightly rest on his thigh.

“Lou?” All eyes are on him as Harry turns to him for a solution. He encourages Louis to give his opinion with warm eyes and a patient expression. Even Li and Niall seem open to whatever Louis may suggest as they wait for him to find his words.

Louis doesn’t know if it’s a good idea to continue helping these men get away with their crimes, but Harry is staring at him with such high regard that Louis feels pressured to rise to the occasion and validate Harry’s esteemed opinion of him.

“Anytime I’ve had to wash blood out of something I soaked it in laundry detergent first. It comes right out in the wash.”

“Really? Actually, I think my mum always did that to stains…” Niall comments. He raises an eyebrow at Louis from the rearview mirror, “How exactly do _you_ know that?”

Louis’ face reddens, now uncomfortable with so much attention on him and his knowledge of domestic related things. “I- I have a lot of younger siblings… sometimes they’d play too rough when I was in charge of taking care of them and I did most of the washing back then so I had to get the stains out.” Louis used to do more than the washing; he also did the cleaning, cooking, and sometimes even the parenting when his mother was busy at work simply because he was the oldest.

“Oh. I’m not judging, mate,” Niall says. “You just don’t look like the type to know about shit like that is all. I was just curious, sorry. My big brother used to babysit me all the time, so I get it.”

Louis’ ears are still burning at having to explain himself. He feels better when he catches Harry’s small grin. “And my older sister used to take care of me sometimes. I believe she had her fair share of washing tough stains out of my clothes.” He cracks a devilish grin at Louis, probably referring to their earlier conversation about Harry’s mother catching him in compromising positions when he was younger and up to God knows what.

Louis grins back at him and Harry gives his thigh a playful squeeze where his hand is still resting on his leg. The action doesn’t go unnoticed by Li whose eyes linger between them for a lot longer than Louis would like. Louis blinks down at the floor to avoid his eyes.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Harry announces to back Louis up. He doesn’t seem to notice the way his friend is looking at them. “My mum used to soak stuff overnight too…we obviously don’t have enough time to do that tonight, but we could at least use the detergent to try and get rid of anything in case someone asks questions later.”

Liam slowly drags his eyes away from where Harry’s hand is resting to turn back around in his seat as he addresses them all. “The most important thing is to make it look normal. People always make the mistake of washing their cars or getting caught purchasing suspicious things to try and cover it up. Whatever we do we need to do it quick.”

They make a decision to make one last stop at a twenty-four hour store to get materials to cover their tracks. It’s too risky having the group go inside at once, so Niall and Harry volunteer to go in together. Nothing seemed wrong with that plan until Louis realized who that would leave him in the mercy of.

His chest starts constricting when Niall pulls to a stop a few of blocks away from his and Harry’s destination. Liam tells them both to hurry back and to be careful. Harry nervously pulls on the sleeves of his borrowed hoodie and squeezes Louis’ forearm before hopping out; a small show of victory for getting everyone to listen to him about the detergent and also a promise of his quick return.

Louis knows that the gesture doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s comforting and he has grown used to the feel of Harry’s hands on his skin, so much so that he’s almost disappointed when he lets go. The door shuts and Louis is already counting down the minutes until he comes back.

Louis gets left inside the vehicle with nothing but Liam and the eerie silence being shared between them. Louis tries to make himself as invisible as possible as he waits, but patiently waiting around has never been a strength of his. It does nothing but make him feel anxious.

He concentrates on taking deep breaths to relieve the pressure he can feel building on top of his chest now that his medication is slowly wearing off. It’s not unbearable yet; just a slight tightness that’s barely even there, but it’s all Louis has to focus on at the moment besides the angry man in the front seat and the dead one in the back.

“You alright back there?” Louis’ breath catches at Liam’s question. When he realizes just how loud and quickly his breaths had been coming he tries to soften the sound, but his breathing is so uneven that it causes Liam to turn and face him. “Are you okay?”

Louis nods, forcing himself to calm down. He’s pretty sure Liam won’t hurt him. After all, Harry did leave them alone together. If there was even the slightest chance that he’d be harmed surely Harry would’ve taken Louis with him, right?

Liam isn’t as concerned once Louis visibly calms. He stares at Louis for a few more seconds before turning back to look out of his window instead. “Do I need to call Harry back for you?” he mutters.

Louis can’t tell what exactly Liam is implying with his question or his tone, but it makes his skin flush hot.

“No.”

“Are you sure? Because I’ve noticed you two have been pretty much inseparable all night. It’s weird considering you were scared to death of him when we found you.”

When they ‘ _found him’_ is a nice way of saying when they kidnapped him. Louis isn’t sure where it comes from, but there’s a fire in his voice as he defends himself. “I thought he was going to hurt me. I thought all of you were.” Louis is angry at Liam all of a sudden for questioning the rationality of his fear. They fucking _killed_ someone. How was Louis supposed to know they wouldn’t do the same thing to him.

Liam breathes a humorless laugh at Louis’ claims.

“Harry would never hurt anybody, especially not you. None of us would.”

Louis isn’t sure what the hell Liam means by that, because he’s quite certain there’s a man in the back who would disagree entirely if he could. Like Liam knows what Louis’ thinking he speaks again.

“Harry hasn’t told you has he? I figured you must know all about it from how close you two have gotten.”

Louis combs through his memory for anything Harry might’ve accidentally told him. He had started telling Louis a lot of things, but his mother showing up kind of took precedence over Harry clearing his name. “He said he didn’t kill that man. He said he wasn’t even there when it happened.”

“He wasn’t,” Li says almost defensively. “The only person who was there was Niall, and even he didn’t do it… or at least he didn’t mean to.”

“He didn’t _mean_ to?” Louis repeats. The various pieces of the puzzle that Liam keeps giving him are vague and hard to put together.  Louis chooses his next words very carefully in case this new sharing version of Liam reverts back to the silent, brooding one. “And how do you not mean to murder someone, Liam?”

He meets Louis eyes with another fierce look of protection like he’s about to take up for his friend, but his face crumples with emotion before he can argue Niall’s side. He turns away from Louis and hides his face in his hands like the remorse of whatever they have done is just too much for him. It’s strange for Louis to see someone who is usually so stoic collapse into a vulnerable mess before his eyes. Harry had been this way earlier in the night, seemingly near tears anytime he wasn’t focusing on Louis. Liam hasn’t had anyone to distract him except Niall and the two of them can barely speak without one of them getting angry. He hasn’t had anyone to confide in or to comfort him, and it shows as he continues to beat himself up over the mess they’re all in.

“Li?” Louis tries when he can’t tell whether or not he’s actually crying. Louis is straddling a thin line when it comes to his own emotions, but he wants to at least try to help if he can. “What happened? What did Niall do?”

“He didn’t do anything,” Li says grudgingly. “It was that asshole in the back who started it. Niall was just trying to go home.”

Louis takes a deep breath, his stomach in knots. He subconsciously cranes his neck over the seat to peer down at him. His mind is playing tricks on him again when the man seems to be in a slightly different position. He doesn’t dare say anything, though. He can practically hear Harry’s voice in his head telling him that it’s just the way that Niall drives that caused the slight change.

“What did he do?” Louis asks, still staring down at him. “Who was he?”

“Some guy from the party Niall was at. He kept following Niall around after he talked to his girlfriend. He didn’t know she was there with someone. They were just talking, but the guy was drunk and wouldn’t listen to him. Niall said he tried to avoid him, but the man kept harassing him and kept trying to start a fight so he left. Niall even texted me and told me he was leaving, but he didn’t know he was followed out to his truck.”

The look in Liam’s eyes is scared and regretful. Louis can hardly breathe as he waits for him to continue. Louis has to push him to keep going. “Then what happened? How did - How did he die?”

“He stopped Niall from leaving by trying to take a swing at him before Niall could open the door. Niall said he did his best not to provoke him, but the asshole kept trying to hurt him and keep him there because he was so wasted. Niall pushed the man away from him so that he could leave. He lost his balance on the edge of the curb and Niall thought that when he fell he’d just get right back up and maybe leave him alone, but-”

Louis finishes for him with his throat tight and his stomach sick. “He didn’t get back up.”

Liam shakes his head, confirming Louis’ guess.

“Niall called me when he realized the man wasn’t breathing. He was hysterical and I didn’t know what to do so I told him to stay where he was until I could get there. He wouldn’t hear of going to the police, and what he was suggesting we do was going to put us both in jail.”

Louis has no idea how he would’ve handled the situation if it were him, but he’s certain his solution wouldn’t have involved dumping the body into a shallow stream. “Why didn’t you just call the police? They would’ve said it was an accident.”

“That man had been antagonizing Niall all night and people saw them arguing. They wouldn’t have believed it was just an accident.”

Louis can’t believe how quickly his mind is racing. The story already seems like one dumb mistake after another, and somehow there’s still more to it. “How did Harry get involved?”

Liam cradles his head in his hands again. “I didn’t know what to do….Niall and I were both so scared…”

“So you called Harry.”

“I didn’t know what else to do, Louis! Niall was talking crazy and we needed help. Harry showed up, took one look at the situation, and agreed with Niall that we needed to cover it up. We had wasted so much time arguing over what to do that it would’ve looked ten times worse for us to tell someone by the time Harry got there.” Louis is sure that his eyes are filled with judgment by the way Liam shamefully hangs his head. “I wasn’t going to turn Niall in for something he didn’t even do.”

Louis surprises himself by getting angry on Harry’s behalf. “So you called your best friend so you could take him down with the both of you?” Liam looks hurt for the first time. His eyes slide shut as silent tears run down his cheeks.

“I know it’s all fucked up,” Liam admits. “We had already made dumb decisions and then we ran into you and things just got more complicated. If we let you go and you decide to turn us in then all of our lives are over. Mine, Niall’s, _and_ Harry’s.”

“And mine.” Louis glares at him because he’d never turn Harry in, and also because Liam conveniently forgot to add his name to the list of lives being ruined if they’re caught. “I’m just as involved as the rest of you now. I might as well have been there and witnessed the whole thing.”

Liam’s face looks in danger of crumpling again. “Louis I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I- I don’t know what else to say…” Louis knows they didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did and now someone is dead and they might end up in prison because of it.

He and Liam fall silent when neither of them has anything more to argue. The heavy thing that sits on Louis’ chest is alive and squeezing at his ribs like a pair of pliers. He takes a pill from his pocket and forces it down his throat in an attempt to stave off the attack he can feel building. His medication starts to take effect just as Harry and Niall come into view walking towards the Range Rover.

Liam catches Louis shoving the rest of his pills back into his pocket, but doesn’t comment. Thankfully, he doesn’t even ask Louis if he’s alright. He instead turns his attention back to his two friends approaching them as they walk side by side.

“He wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You know that, right? Even if Niall and I wanted to. He wouldn’t let you get hurt.” Louis already knows that. He doesn’t really _need_ Liam to speak on behalf of Harry’s character. “And he likes you,” Liam says, watching the boys get even closer. “He’d probably tell you himself under normal circumstances, but.” Now _that_ is something Louis finds interesting.

It’s obvious that Harry cares about him. If Louis’ honest, the feeling is mutual, but he didn’t think Harry was _quite_ so fond of him. Louis thinks he can read Harry pretty well from the short amount of time he has known him, but he didn’t want to presume anything. “How do you know,” Louis asks, trying for indifference but mostly just sounding skeptical.

“How do I know that he likes you?” Louis sees the corner of Liam’s mouth turn up into a grin for the first time since he’s known him. Louis expects him to share some secret sign or indicator that Louis has missed, but Liam’s answer is much simpler than that. “He’s my best friend, remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost to the end! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Louis didn’t realize just how rigid his posture had become in Harry’s absence until he feels himself physically relax upon his return.

Harry’s weight dips the seat where he sits down much closer to Louis than he was before. His gaze is soft when he randomly offers Louis a bottle of water from the shopping bag he started rummaging through the moment he and Niall reentered the vehicle. A light, airy feeling replaces the leaden anxiety that had settled into his stomach when their fingers brush against one another. Harry’s smile widens in a soft blush that Louis is sure he’s hallucinating seeing.

It’s not like the fact that Harry is absolutely gorgeous is beyond Louis or something. Harry is beautiful, striking even. The sort of man Louis would’ve spent hours sneaking quiet glances at from across the pub while out with Stan, with Louis being much too shy to go over and say anything and far too insecure to hope that Harry would notice him in return, but when Harry grins at him like that, soft and with a look seemingly reserved just for him, Louis can almost believe that Liam’s words hold some weight.

“I thought you might be thirsty. You don’t have to take it or anything.”

Louis uncaps the bottle and takes a couple of swallows to show his appreciation when he hears a similar conversation going on up front.

“I uh got you this… didn’t know if you’d want it, but...”

The hard, icy stare that Louis had come to associate with Liam is back, but the moment that the bit of optimism in Niall’s eyes dies out is when Liam’s expression softens. Liam’s gaze flits between the offered bottle of water and his friend until he sighs, seemingly unable to hold onto any lingering resentment he’s feeling.

He takes the water when Niall nudges it towards him again. He offers a quiet, “Thanks, Ni,” that isn’t much in the way of forgiveness, but the small grin that spreads across Niall’s face says that it’s a good enough start for him.

“Me and Harry got a bunch of other stuff too to throw off any suspicion.” Niall digs through his own bag and holds up a tube of mascara and a stack of celebrity gossip magazines. Harry starts going through his bag only to hold up a box of playing cards, a pair of socks with fuzzy balls on the backs, and a canister of baby formula.

They all snort laughs at the random assortment of goods. Even Liam cracks a grin in spite of himself. He quickly recovers though and gets right to business.

“But did you get the things you were meant to? The whole point of this was to wipe the Range Rover…”

Niall rolls his eyes, “Li, would you please calm-” He looks wary of completing his sentence when Liam narrows his eyes at him. “Of course we got the real stuff…” He reaches into the bag once more to reveal a couple of kitchen scrubbing pads and a small box of gloves. In turn, Harry reveals a medium sized bottle of liquid detergent that blends right in with the baby formula. “We split the purchases down the middle and paid for everything separately and about five minutes apart from each other. We bought so much shit that even someone who though we looked suspicious wouldn’t be able to piece together what we were really doing there.”

Liam looks much more at ease and completely impressed with what he’s hearing. “That was a good idea to split it up. Good job, Harry.”

Harry blinks at his name. “Uh… thanks Li, but none of that was actually my idea. It was all Niall.” Surprise colors Liam’s features as he turns to his friend in the driver’s seat. “Yeah,” Harry continues. “Actually, I didn’t really do much. I followed Niall’s lead. No one even looked twice at us.”

“Oh,” Liam says with a light pink coloring the tips of his ears. “Sorry, Ni. I didn’t know. I just figured…”

“It’s cool,” Niall grins. “It’s not like I’ve made the best decisions tonight.” From what Liam told Louis, Niall has made some of the very _worst_ decisions he’s ever heard of tonight, but Liam seems to forget that when he grins back at him.

Harry displays a small grin of his own watching the two of them interact. He seems just as happy about them getting along again as they do, almost like helping Liam to forgive Niall was part of the plan all along. Louis is attempting to work out whether or not their reconnection was something Harry really did intend to do when Harry turns his beam of pride in his direction. Whatever train of thought Louis had gets derailed by the pleasant flipping sensation of his stomach.

The sound of Niall turning the ignition makes it possible for Louis to be able focus on things besides the two dimples on either side of Harry’s smile.

Since their little moment, Niall and Liam have been conversing like real adults. They even take turns changing the radio station when one gets bored of a song. Harry glances at them every so often with great fondness. Louis recognizes that look of admiration. He’s only mildly concerned that it’s usually aimed towards him.

“It was nice of you to get them talking again.”

Harry seems surprised that Louis has chosen to speak him. He shrugs off his comment. “We’ve all been friends for most of our lives. It’d be a shame to let something come between us, especially something like this.”

 _Something like this_. A crime that none of them truly committed.

“No, it’s more than that,” Louis presses. “I know they’re your friends, but- but you look out for everyone.”

Harry was the first person Liam could think to call when he was in over his head with Niall and he hopped up to help them without a second thought. He didn’t have time to grab a shirt before he left to help his friends. Harry is the natural born leader that they all seem to gravitate towards and look up to for answers, and Harry is also the only one out of the three of them that Louis trusts entirely.

“You’re a good person. A good man,” Louis tells him with complete confidence that his statement is not only true, but also that Harry might be one of the best people he’s ever come across. It sucks that they had to meet in a situation such as this. Louis feels almost guilty for thinking for even one second that Harry was going to hurt him. Louis now realizes he’d never do that.

He whispers a flattered, “Thanks, Lou,” but he quickly turns the conversation around. “You know, you’re pretty great as well. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as brave as you.” Louis gives him a sarcastic look worthy of that complete and utter lie. Louis can’t even ride the tube on most days without feeling like he’s suffocating. There’s nothing brave about that.

“It’s true,” Harry tells him when he can see how skeptical Louis is of his statement. “You’ve handled everything this night has thrown at you. You’ve put up with being dragged into our bullshit and taken away from your life, and you did everything in your power to make sure your mother was safe even if it meant you weren’t. If that’s not brave then I don’t know what is.”

Louis could argue that he was only able to do those things with Harry’s help, but he feels like this is a game that could go on and on. Although he does want Harry to know that his presence has made everything he just said possible. Louis lightly squeezes his hand. “I guess we make a great team.”

*

The lightened atmosphere of the vehicle makes little pockets of warmth settle inside Louis’ chest as they drive through the empty streets of the city. It’s so late now that many of the areas they had previously driven through are now deserted with hardly anyone walking around.

There won’t be any more stops off at Louis’ or trips to get food or to do a little shopping. Like some sort of silent pact the four of them know exactly what the next stop involves and where it will be. They have a job to complete and they all know it, however the thought of actually carrying it out still makes Louis feel sick to his stomach.

Harry hasn’t released his hand since Louis linked their fingers together almost an hour ago, and even with the constant warm weight of his hand, Louis is finding it hard to think about anything besides the body behind him. He’s thinking too much is the problem. Letting his imagination run away with him again each time his eyes seem to move of their own accord to glance over the back of his seat.

He had thought he heard something back there a while ago; a sound so soft that Louis wasn’t sure if he had imagined it or not, but he wasn’t going to make the mistake of voicing it like he did before and have everyone questioning his sanity. Instead he strained his ears over the sound of the radio and the other boys’ voices, but thankfully there was nothing Louis could pick out. He forced himself to get a grip when he realized he was acting like a crazy person listening for sounds that aren’t there. He already has enough problems to deal with. The last thing Louis needs is to be hearing the ghosts of dead men.

*

It’s nearing five in the morning when Niall starts driving in the direction of the river without even being told.

They had a close call at a traffic light when a police car pulled up right beside them. The light chatter that had once filled the Range Rover ceased immediately as they all worked to look as natural as four men out at five in the morning could look. The officer only spared a passing glance at them, and Louis’ entire ribcage seemed to constrict down to a point. Even Harry showed signs of fear when he sucked in a sharp breath, clutching Louis’ hand so hard that it hurt.

Their moment of brief terror ended almost as quickly as it began when the traffic light changed and the officer drove away, but their escape was so narrow that none of them argued with Niall’s choice to finish the job sooner rather than later.

The heavy weight starts to settle over Louis’ chest again as the SUV crawls along the street that runs parallel to the river. He’s focusing on pulling steady streams of breath into his lungs to keep himself from losing it while Harry, Niall, and Liam choose a dock discreet and isolated enough for their task. They pick one at the end of a row of deserted old buildings where a couple of streetlights have gone out and haven’t been replaced. It’s perfect.

The Range Rover comes to a stop near the rickety looking dock, just close enough that Louis can see the churning black water that stretches away from them. No one inside the vehicle moves for what seems like forever, and for once it’s not only Louis’ panicked breaths that can be heard in the confined space.

Harry sighs at having to push them. “The longer we sit here, the more chance we have of someone seeing us,” He says. Liam and Niall nod like they fully agree, but they don’t seem any more motivated to actually move. Louis doesn’t either.  Harry sighs again, sitting up to reach for the door. “Right, then. Let’s go. Everybody out.” The command isn’t harsh or severe by any means, but it does cause everyone to shake out of their stupor and follow his lead.

Louis slides out behind Harry on his side of the vehicle, moving to keep up with his long strides as they all meet at the back of the truck. Louis’ following so closely that he accidently steps on the back of Harry’s heel and slows their pace.

“Shit. I- I’m sorry,” he offers when Harry stops and turns toward him.

Harry’s eyes are still just as warm and mossy as they have been all night, but now he seems more serious somehow, more resolute that they’re here. “It’s okay. We’re all nervous.” He tries to give Louis a grin, however it isn’t a very convincing one and looks more scared than anything.

Harry has been there for him all night. A comforting presence and something like a friend whenever he needed one. Louis wouldn’t feel right about it if he didn’t try to offer Harry those very same things in return for his patience. A small gasp leaves Harry’s mouth when Louis steps forward to pull him into an unexpected embrace. He holds Harry to him long enough for him to relax into the hug and squeeze Louis back in the same consoling manner, feeling Harry’s breaths brush along his skin.

Louis can hear Liam and Niall talking at the back of the truck now, so he slowly relaxes his grip around Harry’s frame.

When he pulls away Harry is reluctant to let go. Louis thinks he’s being pulled in for another hug when Harry bends down to brush a kiss against his cheek. The feeling causes Louis’ breath to catch in his throat, but not in the panicked, suffocating way he’s used to. Harry smiles at him like he means it this time, his eyes bright and alive when he walks to join his two friends. Louis dazedly follows behind.

The city is completely dead. They haven’t seen another person in a long time, however Niall still takes a quick look around to make sure no one else is there before opening the latch on the back door. They all stand in silence as the man’s body comes into view beneath the blanket, an eerie collection of bumps, grooves, and rounded shapes before them.

Louis shuts his eyes closed when Harry pulls at the cover to reveal the man’s face again. Louis slowly cracks his eyelids open to see the man’s features still slack and motionless just like before with a single trail of dried blood leading away from his temple.

They don’t spend a lot of time gawking at the man before Liam, Niall, and Harry reach in to gather him up. They stumble trying to maneuver his unbalanced dead weight, and before Louis has properly thought about it he is stepping forward to complete the system by taking his right arm and shoulder. The boys’ faces show their surprise, but they don’t refuse Louis’ unexpected help as they begin walking to the steps leading down to the dock.

The body feels strange in Louis’ hands. Having never actually touched a dead person before, Louis had expected him to feel like cold rubber or a slab of old dried meat, but the man’s flesh is still just as supple and giving as his own. He’s warm even in the places where he isn’t covered by clothing or their hands, which is why Louis knows he’s imagining things again when the man’s chest seems to rise and fall. He’s focusing too much on him. Letting his mind run away with him, so instead of sounding ridiculous, Louis focuses on each step he takes that brings them closer to the dock’s edge.

The last step is taller than all the rest causing Liam to stumble. His misstep causes the body to shift in everyone’s hands. Niall lets go of where he was supporting his neck to get a better grip on his arm, causing the man’s head to harshly fly back. The angle looks painful to Louis, and even if the man can’t feel it, it makes Louis’ stomach turn to see the bones of this throat exposed that way. Louis carefully places the back of his head in his palm and realigns his neck with the rest of his upper body.

The four of them finally arrive at the edge of the dock just outside of the glow of one of the working lights around them. The dim lighting does very little to make the water below seem any less threatening and black as they hold the man’s body just over it.

“Does it matter how we put him in?” Niall asks with uncertainty.

“I’d think feet first, but I don’t think it really matters. As long as it looks like he just fell in and drowned it should be fine,” Liam replies.

They of course look to Harry for any insight he may provide, but his eyes look just as unsure as the rest of them. “I don’t think it matters like you said. Let’s just dump him…we’ve been here too long as it is.”

Harry moves so that he’s nearest the water and the quick motion causes shadows to dance along the man’s face and body. It’s right when Harry starts loosening his grip around him that Louis feels the man’s head turn where it’s resting in his palm. Louis sucks in a breath so harsh that all three men whip their necks around to stare at him. “It- It moved! The body. He- his head. He turned his head.”

“We’re not doing this again,” Liam says, exasperated. “He hasn’t moved all fucking night, Louis. That’s kind of what the problem is.”

Everyone stares at him until his face flushes red. Louis’ eyes are wide where he’s staring down at the man practically begging him to move again and prove that he’s not crazy. “No!” Louis insists. “I thought I heard him earlier in the truck but I thought it was just my imagination.”

Niall raises an eyebrow at him. “It still sounds like your imagination if you ask me. This has been the plan all along, Louis, you don’t have to help. We didn’t come all the way down here just to change our minds.”

Louis shakes his head, meeting Harry’s eyes for support. If anyone is going to believe him it’s Harry, unfortunately this time he doesn’t seem keen to help him. “They’re right, Louis. We have to get this done,” he whispers like an apology. Louis stomach sinks.

Harry looks so sorry for not being able to take his side in this matter, but that doesn’t mean Louis is giving up because he fucking knows what he saw, heard, and felt.

“Alright, boys. On three,” Liam announces, completely ignoring Louis’ outburst.

“Can you fucking hold on for one minute and listen to what I’m saying?!” The volume of Louis’ voice startles them all, including the lifeless body in their hands that takes in a very deliberate and audible breath at the sound.

Liam is so shocked that he completely drops the grip he had on the man’s leg and staggers back towards the stairs. Niall looks so relieved that he’s speechless, his mouth open and gaping as he stares.

Harry walks up to the body with bated breath and stares down at the man with more intensity than Louis ever has. He slaps a hand over his mouth when he witnesses the tiny rise and fall of the man’s chest. “Shit. He’s _breathing_ ,” Harry says almost like he still can’t believe it. “He’s alive, Louis. You- You were right.”


	7. Chapter 7

They take the sleeping man back to the party where their whole night originally began. They leave him on the porch wrapped up in the dark blanket for the people inside to find him when they wake up.

The tense and anxious air of the hours past have disappeared by the time Niall is driving them home. Louis was attacked with hugs and very loud declarations of thanks the second after they realized Louis had been telling the truth. Harry hadn’t quite thrown himself at Louis like Niall and Liam did, choosing instead to fix Louis with look of deep appreciation and admiration when they locked eyes. Louis’ heart had never felt lighter.

They roll to a stop outside of Louis’ flat, each of them meeting his eyes with another wave of thank you’s and apologies.

“I’m so glad you were paying attention,” Liam admits. “We would’ve done something terrible if you hadn’t made us listen to you. I’m so sorry we doubted you.”

Niall jumps right in after Liam finishes. “Yeah, mate, thanks again. You saved us from _actually_ killing someone. We could’ve drowned him, so thanks…and sorry about kidnapping you and holding you hostage and all that. We really didn’t mean anything by it.”

Louis laughs at Niall’s sincerity. “No, Niall, of course. I know it wasn’t personal,” he grins. “No harm done.”

When Louis looks over at Harry he isn’t surprised to find him already staring back, but whatever goodbye Louis could come up with just wouldn’t be adequate enough to explain how much Harry has done for him tonight. He figures Harry must feel the same way when he grins with a soft, “I’ll walk you up?” Liam and Niall both give them smug, knowing looks. “I’ll be right back,” Harry assures them with a roll of his eyes. No one looks incredibly convinced of that.

The walk to Louis’ door feels nothing like it did earlier when Harry convinced them to stop for his medication. Louis had been terrified that Harry would hurt him or do something even worse. His biggest concern was getting away from him and protecting himself, but now as Harry trails beside him he feels completely safe.

“Thank you for walking me up. You didn’t have to. I know you must be tired and ready to get home.”

“I wanted to,” Harry assures him. “I figured it’s the least I could do since you kind of saved the day,” he grins. “I’m glad you were with us. You kept us from making a huge mistake.” Louis has been listening to the other two boys thank him since leaving the river, but the praise feels different when it’s coming from Harry. The color rising in Louis’ cheeks is enough to tell him that Harry’s opinion of him matters more.

“Thank you for everything, Harry. For being there and helping me when I needed it. I couldn’t have made it through without you.” It doesn’t seem like enough of a thank you, but it’s the best Louis can come up with without embarrassing himself. Louis steps forward and wraps Harry in a tight embrace, letting himself sink into the hoodie that now smells just like Harry. He thinks about asking for it back, but very much likes the idea of Harry keeping it more.

He holds Harry until he gets his fill of having him in his arms. This time when he pulls back and Harry leans down, he expects the soft kiss to his cheek, but he doesn’t expect it when Harry’s pursed lips move to his mouth. 

He’s careful at first like the moment is too fragile to withstand too much pressure, but when Louis kisses him back all of that hesitance falls away. Harry holds him there just long enough for Louis to lose his breath. He’s grinning from ear to ear when he pulls away even though his lungs are having to work to pull air into them.  Harry traces his thumb along the cut of his jaw and it’s the best breathless sensation that Louis has ever felt.

“I’ve got to go.” Harry digs Louis’ phone out of his pocket and places it in his hand. Louis blinks down at it knowing that Harry’s number is probably already there. “You get some rest, okay?” Louis nods, hoping Harry will take his own advice and go home to get some sleep too, because he definitely deserves it.

They share one more private grin before Harry turns to walk down the stairs. Louis’ entire stomach is fluttering when he closes his door behind him.

Louis takes a seat on his couch after a few minutes of reorienting himself with the rest of the world. He unlocks his phone and immediately starts scrolling through his list of contacts. He swipes through them a few times before he stops, realizing with sudden dread that Harry’s number isn’t there like he assumed it would be.

His face drains of color when he realizes that enough time has passed for Niall to have driven away by now. Louis stops himself from pointlessly rushing out the door and down the stairs to find him.

If Harry didn’t put his number in his phone then there’s nothing he can really do about it now. If Harry wants to see him again he knows where he lives. Harry will be back, Louis tells himself. Because he has to come back for Louis eventually, right? The thing is, Louis has never been good at waiting.

He saunters to his bedroom to find Harry’s drying hoodie lying in a crumpled ball beside his bed. It’s the only tangible thing he has to know that this night was real and not some sort of weird hallucination. He gently picks it up and hangs it in his closet to finish drying. It’s the last thing he looks at before falling asleep.

Louis wakes up in a haze a couple of hours later when his mother calls right at seven-fifteen just like always.

He groans his greeting into the receiver, only to be met with her shameless giggling. “Oh Lou, you sound awful.”

“I was asleep. How am I supposed to sound?”

“Asleep? Still?” she laughs. “What time did you finally go to bed?”

Louis answers without thinking. “I don’t know, like a couple of hours ago.”

“Goodness, that boy had you up for this long?!” She sounds scandalized but mostly just fascinated. “Well you had quite the night, I guess.”

“ _Mum, stop!_ ” Louis begs, rolling onto his stomach to smother himself. It doesn’t help that she’s still laughing in his ear. It doesn’t help that she’s right.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop since I’m embarrassing you.” Louis is more than grateful. “I figured last night was a bit out of character for you, anyway…” Louis can tell she’s not quite done despite her claims. “So…do you think you’ll see him again?”

Louis squints over at Harry’s hoodie hanging up in his closet. “I hope so,” he says earnestly.

*

The rest of Louis’ day goes by in a slow crawl.

Stan made it over to watch the game even though Louis felt sleepy the entire time that he visited and didn’t say much.

His schedule for taking his medication is completely off due to the events of the previous night, so he avoids taking a full dose until his regularly scheduled time.

It’s nighttime again when Louis runs out of ways to entertain and distract himself in his flat. His mother won’t be calling for another couple of hours, and he is far too anxious and impatient to sit around waiting, so he slips on some shoes and heads to his closet to find a something warm to wear for his journey. He grabs Harry’s dry hoodie without thinking twice about it and pulls it on over his shirt before heading out the door and down the stairs.

He walks through the park entrance and past the tennis courts like always. He steps out onto the small meadow of grass surrounded by trees and Louis grins remembering the last time he was here. Louis walks the familiar path down to the stream trickling by and stops dead in his tracks when he sees someone sitting down in his usual spot. The man is wearing a hoodie that looks too small judging by the way it rides up in the back. He smiles when Harry turns his head toward the sound of Louis’ feet approaching him. His smile is just as wide when Louis takes a seat on the bank right beside him.

“What in the world are you doing out here?” Louis asks, amazed to see him here of all places. 

“I could ask you the same question,” Harry smirks with his lips turned up in at the corners. Louis missed that smirk and it hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours since he’s last seen it.

Louis rolls his eyes at him. “Well, this is technically _my_ stream in case you didn’t know. I don’t usually get many visitors who want to share it. I mostly come here because it’s quiet. It clears my head.”

Harry nods at this new information all the while moving his hand to gently entangle with Louis’. “Well," he begins, " _I_ came here tonight to clear my head as well. But I also came here hoping to see you. Looks like I got my wish.”

Louis ducks his head so Harry can’t see how stupidly large his smile has grown. He spent the whole day anxiously pacing around his flat wondering if Harry would ever show up at his door and here the idiot is camped out at his stream.

“You know Harry, _phones_ are great for getting in touch with people. Everyone has their own personal number and everything. It’s brilliant.”

Harry laughs at his tone. “Putting my number in your phone felt cheap. Like cheating the universe or something.” Harry explains. “We met in such a unique way... when we met again, I wanted it to happen naturally.”

 _When_ they met again.

“And what if I hadn’t decided to take a walk tonight? Then what?” Louis raises an amused eyebrow.

Harry shrugs with a grin of his own. “Then I would’ve sat by this stream every night until you did or at least make up an excuse to show up at your door.”

Louis hadn’t even noticed the lightness in his chest since talking to Harry, but it’s so powerful that it feels like he’s floating when Harry leans in to kiss him.

Later, Louis stumbles out of the woods more dazed and pink cheeked than he ever thought possible from a routine visit to the park. He grins even harder when he looks beside him and Harry is wearing an identical expression as they walk side by side.

They part ways at the entrance of the park and Louis demands to have Harry’s phone number like normal people of the twenty-first century. Harry programs it in and vows to take full advantage by texting Louis any and everything that pops into his head. Louis can hardly wait. 

He makes it home just in time to answer his mother’s call at ten-thirty. He greets her with a bright greeting and she immediately sounds suspicious.

“You sound jittery, but like, a _good_ jittery if that makes any sense.” She pauses for a while like she’s trying to figure out why there’s something extra in his voice. “Louis are you taking your medication like you’re supposed to?”

“Yep.” Louis flops down onto his couch wearing a smile so big that it hurts. “It has been a really good night. I just feel good at the moment.” Euphoric is a better term to describe it, but then he’d have to explain why. His mother laughs at his wistful voice and asks what has gotten into him. He grins, remembering the feel of Harry’s lips against his. “I swear I’m fine," he reassures her. "I just got back from the stream is all…that place mum, I swear it does wonders.”

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


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